AJP - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 242, Issue 6 1095-H1110, Copyright © 1982 by American Physiological Society
Fluid dynamics of the mitral valve: physiological aspects of a mathematical model
D. M. McQueen, C. S. Peskin and E. L. Yellin
This paper presents a computational method that can be used to study the
fluid computational method that can be used to study the fluid dynamics of
the natural or prosthetic mitral valve in a computer test chamber with
contractile muscular walls that model the left side of the heart. Having
solved the equations of motion and predicted the performance of the valve,
the computer presents the results in terms of flow patterns (streamlines),
pressure-contour plots, and graphs of velocity, pressure, flow, tension,
and distance as functions of time. Predicted echocardiograms and
phonocardiograms are also generated by the computer. These predictions are
compared with the results of animal experiments, and the method is used to
study the diastolic role of the chordae tendineae, the pathophysiology of
mitral valve prolapse syndrome, and the fluid dynamics of pivoting disc
valves. Our results support the hypothesis that the chordae have a
functional role during diastole. The results also establish a computer
model of mitral prolapse, which should be useful in functional studies of
that condition, and show that the position of the pivot point and the
curvature of the occluder can have a profound effect on the angle of
opening of pivoting disc valves. These studies illustrate the applications
of the method in physiology, pathophysiology, and prosthetic valve design.
