No abstract

Different levels of spatiotemporal heterogeneity characterize the aneurysmal and healthy ascending aorta hemodynamics, reflecting on wall shear stress topological skeleton. Peculiar wall shear stress topological skeleton features are linked to local ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms stiffness. The topological shear variation index, a measure of wall shear stress luminal contraction/expansion action variation along the cardiac cycle, is an indicator of local aortic wall degradation, performing better than canonical wall shear stress-based descriptors of flow disturbances. Wall shear stress topological skeleton analysis, combined with Complex Networks theory, contributes to better determine whether arterial wall degeneration, in combination with hemodynamic insult, leads to aneurysmal progression/rupture.