Applications of computational fluid dynamics in congenital heart disease: A review

Authors

Amartya Dave, Section of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Raquel Dos Santos, Section of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Usmaan Siddiqi, Section of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Aashi Dharia, Section of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Willa Li, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Umar Siddiqi, Section of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Nhung Nguyen, Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Luka Pocivavsek, Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Narutoshi Hibino, Advocate Health - MidwestFollow

Recommended Citation

Dave A, Santos RD, Siddiqi U, et al. Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics in Congenital Heart Disease: A Review. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis. 2025;12(2):70. Published 2025 Feb 13. doi:10.3390/jcdd12020070

Affiliations

Advocate Children's Hospital, Oak Lawn

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a tool that allows for the analysis of otherwise unobservable blood flow patterns. In the context of medicine, CFD enables researchers to better understand acute and chronic pathophysiology as well as utilize modeling tools to predict blood flow patterns in response to surgical intervention. Such a tool is particularly useful in the field of congenital heart disease (CHD), where complex geometries and patient-specific pathology are common. Research applying CFD to study CHDs has significantly grown in the last twenty years, with new methodologies and recommendations being published at an even faster pace in the last decade. Many currently available reviews are focused on a particular area of progress or on the technical approaches to CFD geared toward the clinician. This review focuses on CFD application within the major domains of CHD research, specifically single ventricle defects and aortic coarctation, reviewing consensus seminal work while highlighting more recent avenues of study. Balancing discussion of CFD parameters with potential clinical implications of study results, this review not only aims to provide cardiovascular professionals context for the technical advancements being made in the field but also a sense of contemporary CFD's utility in clinical practice.

Type

Article

PubMed ID

39997504