Loading on the Heart Valve Leaflets

If you are studying the behavior of the valve leaflets and changes that you make to the model are expected to alter the steady-state pressure profiles for the ventricles, atria, or pulmonary or aortic cavities specified in the baseline model, you must recalculate and reapply new distributed pressure loading profiles for each of the four heart valves as appropriate to reflect the new state.

To reapply new distributed pressure loading profiles:

  1. Deactivate the valves, as described in Removing the Valves and Coronary Arteries/Veins from the Model.
  2. Run the modified simulation until steady state is achieved.
  3. Calculate the pressure differentials across each valve.
  4. Apply these new boundary conditions to each of the sets of valve leaflets.