Assessment of the Effect of Coronary Occlusion on Aortic Valve Dynamics Using a Global 3D FSI Model

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is considered to be a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the developing world. It has recently been shown that aortic root pathologies such as aortic stiffening and calcific aortic stenosis can contribute to the initiation and progression of this disease by affecting coronary blood flow [1,2]. Such pathologies influence the distensibility of the aortic root and therefore the hemodynamics of the entire region. As a consequence the coronary blood flow and velocity profiles will be altered [3,4,5] which could accelerate the development of an existing coronary artery disease. However, it would be very interesting to see if an occluded coronary artery would have a mutual impact on valvular dynamics and aortic root pathologies. This bi-directionality could aggravate and contribute to the progression of both the coronary and aortic root pathology.