Wall stress analyses in patients with ≥5 cm versus <5 cm ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm

Objective Current guidelines for elective surgery of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (aTAAs) use aneurysm size as primary determinant for risk stratification of adverse events. Biomechanically, dissection may occur when wall stress exceeds wall strength. Determining patient-specific aTAA wall stresses by finite element analysis can potentially predict patient-specific risk of dissection. This study compared peak wall stresses in patients with ≥5.0 cm versus Methods Patients with aTAA ≥5.0 cm (n = 47) and Results Peak circumferential stresses at systolic pressure were 530 &#177; 83 kPa for aTAA ≥5.0 cm versus 486 &#177; 87 kPa for aTAA Conclusions Peak patient-specific aTAA wall stresses overall were larger for ≥5.0 cm than aTAA