Fig. 2

Distribution of wall shear stress in the thoracic aorta of a healthy control (a and c) and a patient with an aneurysm of the ascending aorta (b and d). The schematic image illustrates a laminar-like flow pattern in a, with high velocities in the center of the vessel and low velocities along the vessel wall. In b, the schematic image shows a skewed flow profile with highest velocities away from the center of the vessel. In the healthy volunteer (a), an even distribution of WSS (τ_w) is seen, whereas the patient with the aneurysm (b), shows higher WSS at the anterior side of the ascending aorta and lower WSS on the opposite side. c, d depict corresponding cross-sectional flow profiles. c (healthy control) depicts a flow pattern with almost no flow displacement, whereas d (degenerative ascending aortic aneurysm) depicts a flow pattern with large flow displacement. a and b Red depicts high WSS; blue depicts low WSS. c and d Red depicts high velocity; blue depicts low and retrograde velocity