Scope: The presence of a statistically significant corres-pondence between the diameters of the aortic segments demonstrates that dilation in at least one segment becomes a risk factor for the development of complications from congenital aortopathies (CAo) in children. The purpose of the research. Correlational analysis of six aortic segments within CAo in children

Methods: An analytical follow-up study was perfor-med on a sample of 89 children with CAo (62 (69,7%) of boys and 27 (30,3%) of girls, the mean age was 110 5,19 months or 9,2 years. A complete echocardiogra-phy was performed including the evaluation of 6 aortic diameters (I- annular level, II- Valsalva sinus, III- sino-tubular junction, IV- ascending aorta, V- aortic arch, VI- descending aorta (aortic dilation was appreciated according to Z scores (Detroit Data)) and analysis of the relationship between these diameters. Statistics: SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) pro-gram, version 20.

Results: The diameter of the aortic valve ring showed a strong positive correlation with II (r=0,8**, p<0,001), (r=0,8**, p<0,001), IV (r=0,7**, p<0,001) and an average positive correlation with V (r=0,5 **, p<0,01) and VI (r = 0,5**, p<0,01). The diameter of the Val-salva sinus showed a strong positive correlation with I (r=0,8**, p<0,001), III (r=0,9**, p<0,001), IV (r=0,7**, p<0,001) and a positive correlation of medium intensity with V (r=0,5**, p<0,01) and VI (r=0,5**, p<0,01). The diameter of the sinotubular junction had a strong po-sitive correlation with I (r=0,8**, p<0,001), II (r=0,9**, p<0,001), IV (r=0,7**, p<0,001), V (r=0,6**, p<0,001) and VI (r=0,6**, p<0,001). The diameter of the ascending aorta showed a statistically significant correlation with almost all aortic diameters: I (r=0,7**, p<0,001), II (r=0,7**, p<0,001), III (r=0,7**, p<0,001), V (r=0,6**, p<0,001), VI (r=0,5**, p<0,01). The diameter of the transverse aortic arch recorded a direct correlation, of moderate intensity with I (r=0,6**, p<0,01), II (r=0,5**, p<0,01), III (r=0,6**, p<0,01) and VI (r=0,5**, p<0,01). Diameter of the descending aorta demonstrated a di-rect, moderate-intensity correlation with the other five: I (r=0,5**, p<0,01), II (r=0,5**, p<0,01), III (r=0,6**, p<0,01), IV (r=0,5**, p<0,01), V (r=0,5**, p<0,01).

Conclusions: The analysis of the correlation coefficient between the six diameters confirms the hypothesis – a dilation in at least one aortic segment becomes a risk factor for its installation at other levels, facilitating the development of complications such as dissection, aneurysm, aortic rupture.