Figure 18-4 In response to aortic stenosis, left ventricular pressure increases. To maintain wall stress at control levels, compensatory left ventricular hypertrophy develops. According to Laplace's law, wall stress = pressure × radius ÷ (2 × wall thickness). Therefore, the increase in wall thickness offsets the increased pressure and wall stress is maintained at control levels. (From Opie LH: Ventricular function. In The Heart. Physiology from Cell to Circulation, 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Lippincott-Raven, 1998, pp 343–389.)