Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly deployed to provide percutaneous mechanical circulatory support despite incomplete understanding of its complex interactions with the failing heart and its effects on hemodynamics and perfusion. Using an idealized geometry of the aorta and its major branches and a peripherally inserted return cannula terminating in the iliac artery, computational fluid dynamic simulations were performed to (1) quantify perfusion as function of relative ECMO flow and (2) describe the watershed region produced by the collision of antegrade flow from the heart and retrograde ECMO flow. To simulate varying degrees of cardiac failure, ECMO flow as a fraction of systemic perfusion was evaluated at 100%, 90%, 75%, and 50% of total flow with the remainder supplied by the heart calculated from a patient-derived flow waveform. Dynamic boundary conditions were generated with a three-element lumped parameter model to accurately simulate distal perfusion. In profound failure (ECMO providing 90% or more of flow), the watershed region was positioned in the aortic arch with minimal pulsatility observed in the flow to the visceral organs. Modest increases in cardiac flow advanced the watershed region into the thoracic aorta with arch perfusion entirely supplied by the heart.

OBJECTIVES Clinical and subclinical leaflet thromboses are increasingly recognized complications following transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Identification of the risk factors is important to mitigate the occurrence of leaflet thrombosis in transcatheter aortic valves (TAVs) and ensure their long-term function. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of incomplete expansion of TAVs on the likelihood of leaflet thrombosis following transcatheter aortic valve replacement. METHODS Using experimental and computational methods, 3-dimensional unsteady flow fields of 26-mm SAPIEN 3 valves expanded to 3 different diameters (i.e. 26.0 mm, 23.4 mm and 20.8 mm) were determined in patient-specific geometries. The diameters corresponded to 100%, 90% and 80% stent expansion, respectively. To address the potential difference in the likelihood of leaflet thrombosis, blood residence time (i.e. stasis) and viscous shear stress on the surface of TAV leaflets were quantified and compared. RESULTS The results indicated that TAV underexpansion increased blood stasis on the TAV leaflets. Blood residence time on the surface of the leaflets after 80% and 90% TAV expansion on average was 9.4% and 4.1% more than that of the fully expanded TAV, respectively. In addition, areas of blood stasis time of more than 0.5 s, which are highly prone to platelet activation, increased linearly as the degree of TAV underexpansion increased. CONCLUSIONS Incomplete expansion of TAVs increases blood stasis on the surface of TAV leaflets. Regions of blood stasis promote platelet activation and thrombotic events. TAV underexpansion can therefore increase the risk of leaflet thrombosis in patients with transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a vital mechanical circulatory support modality capable of restoring perfusion for the patient in circulatory failure.Despite increasing adoption of ECMO there is incomplete understanding of its effects on systemic hemodynamics and how the vasculature responds to varying levels of continuous retrograde perfusion. To gain further insight into the complex ECMO:failingheart circulation, computational fluid dynamics simulations focused on perfusion distribution and hemodynamic flow patterns were conducted using a patient-derived aorta geometry. Three case scenarios were simulated: (1) healthy control; (2) 90% ECMO-derived perfusion to model profound heart failure; and, (3) 50% ECMO-derived perfusion to model the recovering heart. Fluid-structure interface simulations were performed to quantify systemic pressure and vascular deformation throughout the aorta over the cardiac cycle. ECMO support alters pressure distribution while decreasing shear stress. Insights derived from computational modeling may lead to better understanding of ECMO support and improved patient outcomes.

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