Calculations of pulsatile flow through a branch: implications for the hemodynamics of atherogenesis

Numerical simulations of pulsatile blood flow through a symmetrical branch modeling the aortic bifurcation were carried out to assess several hemodynamic variables with that of early lesions in arterial branches. All of the proposed hemodynamic promoters of atherosclerosis that were examined-high shear, low shear, and separation-were found at sites in the branch where lesions commonly develop. Comparisons with a steady-flow calculations at the same mean flow rate showed that the severity of all of these proposed hemodynamic determinants was increased by pulsatility

Duke Scholars

Author Morton Friedman Biomedical Engineering