Impact of ascending aorta replacement on ventricle load and “windkessel” function

Abstract

The native aorta is a highly flexible vessel featuring a smart volume storage and distribution capacity, the so-called Windkessel, which contributes to a particular mode of blood distribution through the arterial system. In case of prosthetic replacement of parts of the aorta, particularly the ascending, a certain amount of the Windkessel function gets lost due to the minimal elasticity of the commonly applied vascular prostheses. This stiffening increases the load of the left ventricle and also impacts residual parts of the aorta.