Thesis Seminar

Cardiovascular diseases have reached epidemic proportions with serious consequences in terms of human suffering and economic impact. Therefore, there is increasing motivation to develop low-cost and minimally invasive methods to monitor, diagnose, and treat these diseases. Traditionally, the aorta has been viewed as a resistive conduit with a Windkessel effect connected to an active pump, the left ventricle of the heart. However, this perception fails to explain many observed physiological results. 

Here, I introduce the heart-aorta as a system which accounts for a wave-pumping mechanism that exists inside the aorta. Based on this new look, I will present a novel systems science method and index, the Intrinsic Frequency, for analyzing cardiovascular physiology. This concept leads us to a deeper understanding of the physiology and can significantly impact the diagnosis of related clinical diseases. This systems approach provides us a framework to derive a non-dimensional number that predicts the optimum aortic wave state in mammals. Following this approach, I can also provide explanations to many unknown medical outcomes such as sudden cardiac death in young and healthy athletes.