Coarctation of the Aorta in Infancy: Detection on Chest Radiographs

Coarctation of the thoracic aorta masquerading as bilateral aorto-iliac stenosis

“…In part, the high prevalence of systemic hypertension in the population and the infrequent routine measurement of lower extremity blood pressures make this a challenging disorder to identify. Classic findings on chest X-ray such as a widened cardiac silhouette, wide ascending and descending aorta, and notching of the ribs may not always be present or evident as in our patient [10,11]. Comprehensive examination using upper and lower extremity blood pressures, echocardiography, computed tomography angiography (CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is paramount to identifying the nature of the CoA.…”