Coartation of the Aorta

[Cousteau]

the question i  have is how big is your aorta? i was told it was 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm wich is normal. now my aorta is 1.2 mm and i was told that was ok... in the mean time i have chest pain, SOB, very high blood pressure that is now under control i use to be 220/120 and now i'm 140/80 some day and others it low or higher...the doctor told me that they may not do anything because they are not worried about the size of the aorta... i need a second opionion... i know it;s hard for you to tell what is what, however if you can tell me if the 1.2mm aorta should be fix or not, i just need to know if that is a low size... very confused and worried about this...

[kenkeith]

A decrease in size of the aortic root, according to my report, is 2.0 - 3.7 cm or 20 mm - 37 mm.  My measurement is 3.0 cm and a comment states aortic valve reveals mild aortic annular calcification.

The expected measurements do not take into consideration gender and size of heart that is normal on an individual basis.  If the valve is abnormally small, it will create abnormal pressure in the heart chambers and may or may not diilate the left ventricle.  Calcification (usually occurs as one ages) can decrease size (stenosis) and there may or may not be any symptoms.  Worst case-scenaro, and if the doctors are not concerned then no need to worry.  I would maintain a record to compare on an ongoing basis, and/or compare with a previous measuremnt if a vailable.