Flow Acceleration & Elevated Wall Shear Stress with Hypoplastic Arch After Aortic Coarctation Repair

Thomas A. Hope¹, Stephen E. S. Crook¹, Michael D. Hope¹

Aneurysm formation status post aortic coarctation repair is associated with hypoplastic aortic arches. We utilized three-dimensional time resolved phase contrast MRI to demonstrate that there are abnormal systolic flow patterns that result in elevated wall shear stress in the regions of aneurysm formation in patients with hypoplastic aortic arches. These flow features may help explain the high incidence of aneurysm formation in this population as well as identify patients at high risk for aneurysm formation.