Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is commonly associated with aortopathy and potential catastrophic rupture. Identifying those patients at greatest risk for dissection and who would benefit from surgical intervention is challenging. Given that BAV creates abnormal hemodynamics in the ascending aorta which have been associated with regions of increased wall shear stress (WSS), we hypothesized that elevated levels of WSS are associated with increased cell death in the aorta.
