Document Type
Article
Abstract
An aortic aneurysm (AA) is a focal dilatation of the aortic wall. Occurrence of AA rupture is an all too common event that is associated with high levels of patient morbidity and mortality. The decision to surgically intervene prior to AA rupture is made with recognition of significant procedural risks, and is primarily based on the maximal diameter and/or growth rate of the AA. Despite established thresholds for intervention, rupture occurs in a notable subset of patients exhibiting sub-critical maximal diameters and/or growth rates. Therefore, a pressing need remains to identify better predictors of rupture risk and ultimately integrate their measurement into clinical decision making. In this study, we use a series of finite element-based computational models that represent a range of plausible AA scenarios, and evaluate the relative sensitivity of wall stress to geometrical and mechanical properties of the aneurysmal tissue. Taken together, our findings encourage an expansion of geometrical parameters considered for rupture risk assessment, and provide perspective on the degree to which tissue mechanical properties may modulate peak stress values within aneurysmal tissue.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Publication Info
Published in Plos One, Volume 13, Issue 2, 2018.
Rights
© 2018 Azar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
APA Citation
Azar, D., Ohadi, D., Rachev, A., Eberth, J. F., Uline, M. J., & Tarek Shazly. (2018). Mechanical and geometrical determinants of wall stress in abdominal aortic aneurysms: A computational study. PLOS ONE, 13(2).https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192032