Springer, Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research, 5(15), p. 1075-1085, 2022
DOI: 10.1007/s12265-022-10221-4
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AbstractAortic surgeries in congenital conditions, such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), aim to restore and maintain the conduit and reservoir functions of the aorta. We proposed a method to assess these two functions based on 4D flow MRI, and we applied it to study the aorta in pre-Fontan HLHS. Ten pre-Fontan HLHS patients and six age-matched controls were studied to derive the advective pressure difference and viscous dissipation for conduit function, and pulse wave velocity and elastic modulus for reservoir function. The reconstructed neo-aorta in HLHS subjects achieved a good conduit function at a cost of an impaired reservoir function (69.7% increase of elastic modulus). The native descending HLHS aorta displayed enhanced reservoir (elastic modulus being 18.4% smaller) but impaired conduit function (three-fold increase in peak advection). A non-invasive and comprehensive assessment of aortic conduit and reservoir functions is feasible and has potentially clinical relevance in congenital vascular conditions. Graphical abstract