PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BAV-AFFECTED AORTIC ROOT DYNAMICS: FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTION SIMULATION BASED ON MRI-DERIVED GEOMETRIES

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the fusion of two out of the three aortic valve (AV) leaflets. Even when normally functioning at echocardiographic evaluation, BAV alters aortic root (AR) hemodynamics and tissue stresses. In more advanced pathological scenarios, BAV can be lethal, in that it is often associated with ascending aorta (AA) dissection. The quantification of the biomechanical alterations induced by normally functioning BAVs may contribute elucidating the processes underlying the advancement of the pathological condition and the relation between BAV and AA dissection.