  The aortic valve is a three-leaflet passive structure that, driven by
pressure differences between the left ventricle and the aorta, opens and closes
during the heartbeat to ensure the correct stream direction and flow rate. In
elderly individuals or because of particular pathologies, the valve leaflets
can stiffen thus impairing the valve functioning and, in turn, the pumping
efficiency of the heart. Using a multi-physics left heart model accounting for
the electrophysiology, the active contraction of the myocardium, the
hemodynamics and the related fluid-structure-interaction, we have investigated
the changes in the flow features for different severities of the aortic valve
stenosis. We have found that, in addition to the increase of the transvalvular
pressure drop and of the systolic jet velocity, a stenotic aortic valve
significantly alters the wall shear stresses and their spatial distribution
over the aortic arch and valve leaflets, which may induce a remodelling process
of the ventricular myocardium. The numerical results from the multi-physics
model are fully consistent with the clinical experience, thus further opening
the way for computational engineering aided medical diagnostic.
