Comparison of arterial waves derived by classical wave separation and wave intensity analysis in a model of aortic coarctation

Coarctation of the aorta may develop during fetal life and impair quality of life in the adult because upper body hypertension and aneurysm formation in the descending aorta may develop. We used our computational model of the young adult arterial circulation, incorporated aorta coarctation over a range from 0 to 80% and evaluated the effects in terms of forward pressure (P+) and backward pressure (P−). Predictions at several sites proximal and distal to the coarctation using an impedance-based waveform separation method (WSA) and the time-domain technique of wave intensity analysis (WIA) yielded comparable outcomes. A large reflected backward compression wave was seen proximal to the coarctation. Both techniques, WSA and WIA, gave the same results in terms of P+ and P−. A descending index (DI) was formulated as the difference between peak systolic pressure and valve closure pressure, divided by the pulse pressure. DI increased with stenosis severity for mild to moderate aortic coarctations that did not yet cause evident hypertension. This index may allow for early diagnosis by noninvasive estimation of coarctation severity.