Normal values of the growth of the aorta in children. An angiography study

Angiocardiography is a standard procedure for quantification and evaluation of congenital heart disease. Knowledge of the diameters at the level of aortic valve ring, ascending and descending aorta can contribute to the decision in repair of congenital heart disease. Moreover, they are helpful for postoperative follow-up studies. In order to establish normal standards, analysis was performed on 51 cineangiograms obtained from infants, children and adolescents with no evidence of heart disease (n = 16) or only hemodynamically irrelevant cardiovascular malformations (n = 35). The individual diagnoses in these patients appear in the accompanying publication in this issue. Patients with bicuspid aortic valve or subvalvular aortic stenosis were excluded from measurements of the aortic valve ring, the sinus and the ascending aorta. Angiocardiography was performed in a fasting state, after sedation and in the supine position with injections of contrast material in the pulmonary artery and or in the left ventricle and ascending aorta. For purposes of calibration, a grid or the known diameter of the catheter was used. Systolic and diastolic diameters of the aortic valve ring (AO-R), sinus (AO-S) and distal region, between sinus valsalvae and ascending aorta (AO-D), as well as those of the isthmus (DAO-I), postisthmic region (DAO-PI) and descending thoracoabdominal aorta (DAO-T) were measured. To obtain a mean value for each vascular structure, the corresponding systolic and diastolic diameters were averaged. The mean diameter was referenced to body length and body surface area (BSA).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)