Characterization of High Stress Regions in Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm

Presenter: Lauren Huckaby, MD (Advisors: Drs. Thomas Gleason / Edith Tzeng)

Thoracic aortic dissection carries a mortality risk of 1% per hour if untreated. Dissection is often preceded by asymptomatic thoracic aortic dilatation (aneurysm), yet current aortic diameter-based surgical guidelines fail to capture the approximately 60% of patients with aortic dilatation who experience dissection at lower diameters. Prior work from Dr. Huckaby's group has utilized non-invasive imaging (CT) and computational modeling to predict high stress regions in the thoracic aorta and furthermore has correlated these high stress location with intimal tears in patients who experience dissection. Now, they aim to characterize cellular and tissue-level properties of the high and low stress regions in order to elucidate pathophysiologic mechanisms preceding aortic dissection. Future directions will include exploring the utility of non-invasive imaging to more accurately adjudicate risk of aortic dissection among patients with aneurysm.

• Article: Predissection-derived geometric and distensibility indices reveal increased peak longitudinal stress and stiffness in patients sustaining acute type A aortic dissection: Implications for predicting dissection