Impaired aortic distensibility determined by magnetic resonance imaging in patients with different bicuspid aortic valve phenotypes

Beyond the morphologic and functional abnormalities of the bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) there is also intrinsic pathology of the aortic wall, manifested by potentially lethal complications such as aortic aneurysm or dissection. Aortic distensibility and compliance are impaired in atherosclerotic aortic aneurysms and Marfan syndrome. Similar abnormalities of compliance are felt to occur in the setting of BAV, though this has been little studied with velocity-encoded magnetic resonance imaging (VENC-MRI), and further there is no data on the influence of BAV morphology on this abnormality. VENC-MRI is a potent non-invasive technique to determine aortic distensibility via aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurements; in addition these measurements do not depend on knowledge of central arterial pressure or geometrical assumptions that may limit alternative measurement tools.