Left Ventricular Untwisting: Diagnostic Role and Biomechanical Evaluation in Acute Mile and Moderate Elevation of Right Ventricul

Left Ventricular Untwisting: Diagnostic Role and Biomechanical Evaluation in Acute Mile and Moderate Elevation of Right Ventricul Left Ventricular Untwisting: Diagnostic Role and Biomechanical Evaluation in Acute Mile and Moderate Elevation of Right Ventricular Afterload in... Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is the third most common cause of death in the US with at least 600,000 cases occurring annually, resulting from the migration of emboli to the lungs and obstruction of pulmonary blood vessels. However, little progress has been made in clinical and biophysical understanding of acute mild and moderate elevation of right ventricular afterload, ie, conditions of early or repetitive (thus best treatable) stages of APE. Furthermore, the physiologic and diagnostic role of the likely left ventricular compensatory response represented by increased untwisting and suction has not been elucidated. By combining the expertise of the two collaborating investigators in the physiology and physics of the heart, the significance of the project is experimentally addressing the aforementioned gaps in understanding of cardiac biomechanics in APE with a gradually increasing severity. Result of this research should lead to a comprehensive (NIH, NSF) project on early detection of APE as well as optimization and determination of the success of therapy.