# Correlating Aortic Valve Structure to Heart Sound Characteristic

> **NIH NIH F31** · FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $36,439

## Abstract

Summary/Abstract:
Aortic valve disease (AVD) occurs when aortic valve leaflets become thickened and stiff due to fibrotic
remodeling and formation of calcific nodules. Consequently, aortic stenosis develops when blood distribution to
the body is compromised due to the valve not being able open properly. Underdiagnosis of patients remains a
problem because—even when severe—AVD can be asymptomatic. Asymptomatic patients are not referred to
specialists for advanced imaging procedures that can diagnose AVD. Delayed intervention of aortic stenosis
leads to cardiac remodeling and eventually cardiac failure. In order to address problems associated with
underdiagnosis, screening strategies that can be implemented into routine physical examinations are needed to
detect AVD in asymptomatic patients. The vibrations of aortic valve leaflets during valve closure produce the
audible frequencies (S2 sound) heard through a doctor's stethoscope. We hypothesize that microstructural
differences in aortic valve remodeling and related alterations in biomechanics can be identified by changes in
the valvular acoustic characteristics (S2 sound) in early AVD. Structural and composition changes in the
extracellular matrix (ECM) lead to the biomechanical alterations that cause AVD. The goals of the proposed
study, tested through two aims, is to identify how changes in aortic valve biomechanics influence heart sound
characteristics. Aim 1 will identify whether ECM structural alterations induce changes in S2 sound frequency and
time characteristics in a mouse model of aortic stenosis. Aim 2 will further develop a new technique to analyze
mouse aortic valve biomechanics, providing new insight into the microstructural and functional leaflet alterations
during various AVD stages. The outcomes of the proposed research can contribute to the future development of
a non-invasive diagnostic tool to identify patients who are at risk of developing or have severe but asymptomatic
AVD. This work could have a major impact in AVD management in two ways: 1) enable identification of patients
in early, reversible disease stages, enabling opportunities to explore new non-invasive treatments, and 2)
diagnose asymptomatic patients with late-stage AVD, leading to lifesaving valve replacement surgery.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10067136
- **Project number:** 1F31HL154671-01
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Valentina Dargam
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $36,439
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-07 → 2023-09-06

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10067136

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10067136, Correlating Aortic Valve Structure to Heart Sound Characteristic (1F31HL154671-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10067136. Licensed CC0.

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