Thoracic aortopathy in Turner syndrome and the influence of bicuspid aortic valves and blood pressure: A CMR study

Background. to investigate aortic dimensions in women with turner syndrome (ts) in relation to aortic valve morphology,blood pressure,karyotype,and clinical characteristics. methods and results. a cross sectional study of 102 women with ts (mean age 37.7; 18-62 years) examined by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (cmr- successful in 95),echocardiography,and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure. aortic diameters were measured by cmr at 8 positions along the thoracic aorta. twenty-four healthy females were recruited as controls. in ts,aortic dilatation was present at one or more positions in 22 (23%). aortic diameter in women with ts and bicuspid aortic valve was significantly larger than in ts with tricuspid valves in both the ascending (32.4 6.7 vs. 26.0 4.4 mm; p < 0.001) and descending (21.4 3.5 vs. 18.8 2.4 mm; p < 0.001) aorta. aortic diameter correlated to age (r = 0.2 - 0.5; p < 0.01),blood pressure (r = 0.4; p < 0.05),a history of coarctation (r = 0.3; p = 0.01) and bicuspid aortic valve (r = 0.2-0.5; p < 0.05). body surface area only correlated with descending aortic diameter (r = 0.23; p = 0.024). conclusions. aortic dilatation was present in 23% of adult ts women,where aortic valve morphology,age and blood pressure were major determinants of the aortic diameter. © 2010hjerrild et al; licensee biomed central ltd.