Architectural trends in the human normal and bicuspid aortic valve leaflet and its relevance to valve disease.

ABSTRACT: The bicuspid aortic valve (AV) is the most common cardiac congenital anomaly and has been found to be a significant risk factor for developing calcific AV disease. However, the mechanisms of disease development remain unclear. In this study we quantified the structure of human normal and bicuspid leaflets in the early disease stage. From these individual leaflet maps average fiber structure maps were generated using a novel spline based technique. Interestingly, we found statistically different and consistent regional structures between the normal and bicuspid valves. The regularity in the observed microstructure was a surprising finding, especially for the pathological BAV leaflets and is an essential cornerstone of any predictive mathematical models of valve disease. In contrast, we dete

SUBMITTER: Aggarwal A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4364391 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature