"Bovine Arch" - Researching Another Aortic Mystery

Normal arch

More to the Aortic Mystery?
There are so many things not well understood about bicuspid aortic valve in individuals and families. Are there other aortic clues, beyond the abnormal aortic valve, that may be markers, important clues to aid in understanding each person? It is possible that one of those clues may be the aortic arch.

 "Bovine" Aortic Arch - Similar to Cows?
The aortic arch is the curve of the "candy cane".  There are three arteries that branch off from this curve delivering  blood to the head and upper body. Each of these arteries normally branch directly from the aorta, and each artery has its own separate opening, as pictured in the drawing on the right.

However, physicians have noticed that in some people their arch vessels are different. In medicine, the term "bovine arch" has been used to describe these differences.

Variation of the Arch Branches in People - Not Like Cows After All!
Bovine refers to cows, however, this is not an accurate description of what is seen in humans! The variation of arch branches in humans is not the same as that found in cows. Somehow, the name has persisted, although it is not accurate.

Here is a link to a paper that describes the "bovine arch" in more detail.

Bovine Aortic Arch Variant in Humans: Clarification of a Common Misnomer

For those who want to know whether or not they have a "bovine" aortic arch, it can be seen through CT and MRI scans, and may be described in the written reports of those tests. It is something which may be discussed with physicians in reviewing test results.

Please Support the Search for Answers
Those of us who volunteer with BAF know that the bovine arch is present in our families. We are very interested in understanding if this is also a useful marker, another malformation of the aorta that should be noted and understood more fully.

Some family members appear to have "normal" three-leaflet aortic valves, yet they develop aneurysms, "electrical" heart issues, and other issues in their bodies. They also have the bovine aortic arch. There is a great deal to explore further in the quest for answers and help.

The Bicuspid Aortic Foundation is supporting an effort to gather data about the arch variations present in those with bicuspid aortic valves. During these last days of 2018, looking forward to the new year to come, we invite you to join with us by supporting our search for answers. Your donations make this search for answers possible.

Online donations may be made through our MightyCause page.

Above all,

 we encourage everyone

to seek knowledge,

 to ask questions,

 and to never stop learning

 about bicuspid aortic valves and thoracic aortic disease. 

This is how lives are saved,

Creating a Climate of Hope,

~Arlys Velebir

                         Bicuspid Aortic Foundation

Doing Good in the World of BAV and Thoracic Aortic Disease

BAV and aorta research in Ottawa involves mice like this one

My thoughts return often to the research in progress at the University of Ottawa.

 It is hard to find words that will convey what the efforts there mean to those of us with BAV and thoracic aortic disease.

I will try. 

One of the memories I have from my visit to Ottawa is holding the upper half of a human heart in my gloved hands. The lower half had been cut away. As I looked inside at the upper chambers and valves, to my surprise I saw this was a heart whose aortic valve had been replaced. The biological aortic valve that had been so carefully stitched in place by a surgeon's hands was still firmly in place.

I cannot describe the emotions that flowed through me then, and once again now, thinking of an unknown someone whose heart somehow came to be donated to medicine, to be studied after their life ended. I think of Dr. Abbott's work with preserved hearts in what is today the Maude Abbott Medical Museum in Montreal. There are hearts with BAV there. I hope to see them one day.

The cost of progress that others might live longer and more fully can indeed be very high. The cost of someone else's life. An even greater cost, a tragedy, occurs when lives are lost without learning from them how to help others. It means others will continue to suffer and die.

Everything about these mice, including diet, is meticulously tracked

Mice Hearts and BAV - Families Just Like Ours

We need not learn from our human families alone. At the University of Ottawa there are two different mice groups with specific genetic deficiencies that produce BAV. Like human families, some have BAV, some do not. Each one has their only individual experience, although having the same genetics. They are teaching researchers there about BAV, and they are very good teachers, accurately representing the variability of BAV and aortic aneurysm.  It was a great thrill to visit them and listen to what researchers are learning from them. This research is performed in the Nemer Lab, which is contained within the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology. 

MRI for research in Ottawa
(Note the small, mouse-size opening!)

Echocardiogram machine
just right for mouse hearts!

Research is Costly

Dr. Sharo Raissi (BAF) with Dr. Daniel Figeys

Dr. Daniel Figeys heads the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology within the School of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. This department includes the Nemer Lab and BAV research. Dr. Figeys very kindly gave us a tour of the research facilities.  It was impressive to see so much equipment in this facility that is solely aimed at understanding disease and alleviating human suffering.

 

 Doing Good in Our World

Dr. Sharo Raissi (BAF), Arlys Velebir (BAF), Dr. Daniel Figeys

At the Bicuspid Aortic Foundation, thanks to donations from the public, we have been able to fund scholarships to support BAV research in the Nemer Lab in Ottawa. They are adding important understanding to the knowlege Dr. Abbott established so long ago.
Some of us with BAV in our families will be called upon to teach the doctors who care for us more about BAV and TAD than they currently know. Those who have wise, skilled and compassionate physicians to walk beside them will indeed add to medical knowledge as their experiences unfold.

However, anyone so moved can make a contribution to help. In these last days and weeks of 2018, our thoughts may turn  to many things, including where we might give financially that will truly do good in our world.

This is to tell you that you can do good in the world of those with BAV and thoracic aortic disease through a donation to BAF, as we collaborate with those working to understand BAV and thoracic aortic disease. You may donate online at MightyCause 

Thank you for joining with us and

Creating a Climate of Hope,

~ Arlys Velebir, Chairman

        Bicuspid Aortic Foundation