Table 1.

Characteristics of volunteers and patients of the study.

Case	Characteristics
Volunteers	N = 9. Ages: 25 to 30
BAV case	55 years, male Has a bicuspid aortic valve (without stenosis, peak blood velocity of 1.9m/s) and an aneurysm of the ascending aorta.
AoD case	39 years, male Sustained a type A aortic dissection two years previously, for which he underwent immediate aortic valve and aortic root replacement with a composite mechanical valved aortic conduit. The dissected distal ascending aorta and dissected aortic arch were not treated surgically, giving rise to a “double barrelled” distal ascending aorta and arch. The false lumen re-enters the true lumen at the proximal descending aorta.
MFS case	49 years, female Marfan syndrome, no prior surgical treatment and was treated with beta-blockers. B-blocking agents were discontinued in patients 72 hours prior to data acquisition.