Projects per year
Abstract
Congenital abnormalities in girls and women with Turner syndrome (TS), alongside an underlying predisposition to obesity and hypertension, contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and ultimately reduced life expectancy. We observe that children with TS present a greater variance in aortic arch morphology than their healthy counterparts, and hypothesise that their hemodynamics is also different. In this study, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations were performed for four TS girls, and three age-matched healthy girls, using patient-specific inlet boundary conditions, obtained from phase-contrast MRI data. The visualisation of multidirectional blood flow revealed an increase in vortical flow in the arch, supra-aortic vessels, and descending aorta, and a correlation between the presence of aortic abnormalities and disturbed flow. Compared to the relatively homogeneous pattern of time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS) on the healthy aortae, a highly heterogeneous distribution with elevated TAWSS values was observed in the TS geometries. Visualisation of further shear stress parameters, such as oscillatory shear index (OSI), relative residence time (RRT), and transverse WSS (transWSS), revealed dissimilar heterogeneity in the oscillatory and multidirectional nature of the aortic flow. Taking into account the young age of our TS cohort (average age 13 ± 2 years) and their obesity level (75% were obese or overweight), which is believed to accelerate the initiation and progression of endothelial dysfunction, these findings may be an indication of atherosclerotic disease manifesting earlier in life in TS patients. Age, obesity and aortic morphology may, therefore, play a key role in assessing cardiovascular risk in TS children.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 670841 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine |
Volume | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2021 |
Keywords
- Turner syndrome
- computational fluid dynamics
- haemodynamics
- cardiovascular disease
- paediatric medicine
- patient-specific
- disturbed flow
- atherosclerosis
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Dive into the research topics of 'Hemodynamic abnormalities in the aorta of Turner syndrome girls'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 3 Finished
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Aortic arch haemodynamics in adult women with Turner syndrome: A numerical investigation into obesity-related factors (UK-Canada doctoral exchange scheme: Globalink Research Placement)
Kazakidi, A. (Principal Investigator)
NERC (Natural Environment Research Council)
1/04/20 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
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Blood flow studies in normal and diseased arteries in relation to early vascular changes and paediatric obesity
Kazakidi, A. (Principal Investigator) & Gourlay, T. (Principal Investigator)
1/10/18 → 30/09/21
Project: Research - Studentship
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Multi-scale computational hemodynamics in obese children and adolescents: enabling personalised prediction of cardiovascular disease (CALLIRHEO) H2020 MSCA IF
Gourlay, T. (Co-investigator) & Kazakidi, A. (Fellow)
European Commission - Horizon Europe + H2020
1/01/18 → 31/12/19
Project: Research Fellowship