Familial Aspects of Coarctation of the Aorta

¹ Section of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, and the Section of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, University Hospital, The University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor

In a 15-year period in one medical center where 341 patients had a coarctation of the aorta identified, five families had more than one family member affected with this disorder. Two of these families had three siblings with coarctation, one had two siblings, and two have a parent and child affected. The frequency of coarctation in more than one member of a family would appear more common than expected by chance alone, and implies a genetic contribution to the etiology of this disorder. Similar lesions in addition to other congenital cardiac malformations should be assiduously sought in siblings and children of subjects with congenital cardiac malformations.