The Influence of Aneurysm Configuration on Intra-Aneurysmal Pressure and Flow

Aneurysm rupture may occur in conjunction with swift pressure increases like heavy lifting. We therefore investigated the transmission of pressure waves as well as local flow rates in various types of experimental aneurysms and their parent arteries. 0.014-inch guidewires containing a combined pressure and thermistor sensor were inserted into both the dome and the parent artery of idealized silicone aneurysms mounted in a pulsatile flow phantom. Intravascular pressure and thermodilution responses to injections of room-temperatured normal saline at a rate of 5cc.s⁻¹ over two seconds were recorded simultaneously at both sites. Flow was evaluated semiquantitatively applying the thermodilution principle. We found that the propagation of pressure was attenuated at the dome of the aneurysms compared to their respective parent arteries. This difference was more distinct in side-wall aneurysms than in bifurcational aneurysms.

The attenuation of traveling pressure in the aneurysm was most effective at low systemic pressures. The intraaneurysmal flow rate was unique, always lower than in the respective parent arteries and highly dependent on the configuration of the aneurysm. We observed considerably higher flow rates in bifurcational aneurysms compared to side-wall aneurysms. Bifurcational aneurysms were hence characterized by a relatively high pressure transmission and high flow rates which may represent a stimulus for enlargement of untreated aneurysms and promote coil compaction in endovascularly treated lesions.