Section: Application Domains

Cardiovascular hemodynamics

The heart is a double pump whose purpose is to deliver blood to the tissue and organs of the body. This function is made possible through the opening and closing of the heart valves. Cardiac diseases generally manifest by affecting the pumping function of the heart. Numerical simulations of cardiac hemodynamics, in normal and pathological conditions, are recognized as a tool of paramount importance for improving the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of cardiac pathologies, and also for the development of implantable devices (see, e.g., [63], [46]). As an example, we can mention the case of cardiac mitral valve regurgitation, one of the most common heart valve diseases. For this pathology, clinical data are known to be insufficient for determining the optimal timing for surgery, the best surgical strategy and the long-term outcome of a surgical repair. Contrary to imaging techniques, numerical simulations provide local information, such as pressure and stresses, which are of fundamental importance for the prediction of the mechanical behavior of native valves and of implantable devices.