The influence of bileaflet prosthetic aortic valve orientation on the blood flow patterns in the ascending aorta

The interplay with the blood flow and the heart valves, which provide unidirectional blood flow through the heart, is complicated since it involves flow pulsatility and complex, deformable geometries of both the valve and the aorta [1]. Malfunctions of the heart valves can affect the hemodynamics of the whole circulatory system [2,3] and these abnormalities can either be congenital or arise from abnormalities in hemodynamic behavior. Dysfunctional heart valves can usually be replaced with prosthetic heart valves, which, depending on the design and quality of insertion, offer variable hemodynamic performance and may be associated with different levels of energy loss.
Source: Medical Engineering and Physics - Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Source Type: research