Predicting the Effects of Straight and Tapered Stents on Blood Flow Properties in the Aorta

Coarctation of the Aorta is a congenital heart disease with a severe prognosis. Several treatments are available, but all treatments have side effects. Furthermore, since some treatments have only been commonly used in the past two decades, clinical data that could be used to compare the long-term outcomes of the treatments are unavailable. We simulate blood flow through one-dimensional models of treated aortas to assess the impact of treatments on blood flow properties. In this study, stent treatments are modelled and we find that straight stents, as opposed to stents that taper with the aorta, exhibit preferable blood flow properties.