Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In cardiology, aortic valve area calculation is an indirect method of determining the area of the aortic valve of the heart. The calculated aortic valve orifice area is currently one of the measures for evaluating the severity of aortic stenosis. A valve area of less than 1.0 cm 2 is considered to be severe aortic stenosis. [1] [2]
Coming out of the heart, the thoracic aorta has a maximum diameter of 40 mm at the root. By the time it becomes the ascending aorta, the diameter should be < 35–38 mm, and 30 mm at the arch. The diameter of the descending aorta should not exceed 25 mm. [8] [9] The arch of the aorta lies within the mediastinum.
The aorta normally has three small pouches that sit directly above the aortic valve (the sinuses of Valsalva), and an aneurysm of one of these sinuses is a thin-walled swelling. Aneurysms may affect the right (65–85%), non-coronary (10–30%), or rarely the left (< 5%) coronary sinus. [ 1 ]
The aortic root is the portion of the aorta beginning at the aortic annulus and extending to the sinotubular junction. It is sometimes regarded as a part of the ascending aorta, [ 2 ] and sometimes regarded as a separate entity from the rest of the ascending aorta.
The aorta (/ eɪ ˈ ɔːr t ə / ay-OR-tə; pl.: aortas or aortae) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart, branching upwards immediately after, and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits at the aortic bifurcation into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries).
The thoracic aorta is a continuation of the descending aorta and becomes the abdominal aorta when it passes through the diaphragm. The initial part of the aorta , the ascending aorta , rises out of the left ventricle, from which it is separated by the aortic valve .
As the blood moves into the aortic arch, the area with the highest velocity tends to be on the inner wall. Helical flow within the ascending aorta and aortic arch help to reduce flow stagnation and increase oxygen transport. [4] As the blood moves into the descending aorta, rotations in the flow are less present.
Abdominal aortic aneurysms are commonly divided according to their size and symptomatology. An aneurysm is usually defined as an outer aortic diameter over 3 cm (normal diameter of the aorta is around 2 cm), [43] or more than 50% of normal diameter. [44] If the outer diameter exceeds 5.5 cm, the aneurysm is considered to be large. [42]