Acute outcome of stent therapy for coarctation of the aorta: results of the coarctation of the aorta stent trial.

Objectives: The coarctation of the aorta stent trial (COAST) is a pivotal trial of the NuMED Cheatham Platinum Stent(®) for treatment of coarctation of the aorta (CoA).

Background: CoA is a congenital obstruction to flow through the aorta. Stents have been used since the 1990s to treat CoA; none have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this indication.

Cardiac medical conditions have become the leading cause of death in children with heart disease.

Objective: Mortality among children with congenital and acquired heart disease has decreased significantly over the past decades. We sought to determine whether the underlying problems leading to death in these patients had changed over the past decade.

Methods: We reviewed medical records for 100 deaths of cardiac patients in 2004-2005 and 100 deaths in 1995-1996.