Computer modeling of the effects of aortic valve stenosis and arterial system afterload on left ventricular hypertrophy

The degree of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is generally thought to reflect the severity of aortic stenosis. However the influence of arterial system characteristics is poorly understood. The authors developed a computer model to investigate the effects of aortic stenosis in combination with various systemic arterial parameters in the development of LV hypertrophy. Data show that an increased peripheral resistance and/or valve resistance, results in an increase in LV wall thickness and mass, while peak systolic wall stress remains constant. Changing arterial compliance to above normal level would not induce changes in wall thickness, while results below normal would cause an increase in wall thickness. When the heart is double loaded, the hypertrophic process is aggregated and shows a greater increase in wall thickness