Stress distribution of the degenerated aortic wall considering the residual stress

Abstract Diameter criteria are widely used to assess the risk factor of aortic dissection (AD), although they are inaccurate. Instead, an accurate in vivo stress computation should be estimated to this end with the existence of residual stress (RS), especially on the degenerated aortic wall. In this study, a kinematic growth method was utilized to model the in vivo stress of the young and old porcine abdominal aorta considering the RS. Degeneration of the aortic wall was modeled to simulate the initial tear (intimal entry and medial bleeding) at the first stage of AD by deleting the elements. With the RS, the maximum stress around the tear is lower than that without RS. For young porcine, intima degeneration was more dangerous than media degeneration (MD), while for old porcine MD was more dangerous. Old porcine was more dangerous than young porcine under a higher pressure around the tear in the hypertension case. The RS plays a protective role and prevents the initial tear from propagating. Current in vivo stress modeling may be a powerful tool to predict the risk of AD in patient‐specific analysis involving the propagating of the aorta dissection.