Computational analysis of blood flow and wall mechanics in a model of early atherosclerotic artery

Abstract

In this paper, the model of the early atherosclerotic artery was introduced to investigate the blood flow and wall mechanics and the effects of atherosclerosis on neighboring healthy arteries. Under the assumptions of unsteady, laminar, Newtonian, viscous, and incompressible blood flow and linear-elastic, isotropic, and incompressible vessel wall, the finite element method was used to construct the fluid-structure interaction scheme. Results show that wall shear stress is lower, and cyclic strain is higher in the neighboring healthy arteries than those in the atherosclerotic artery. The hemodynamic and wall mechanical factors are disadvantageous to the healthy arteries and have negative effects. The mechanical changes induced by early atherosclerosis may cause the disease to spread to the healthy arteries. This work proves that early diagnosis and treatment are important in preventing the further development and propagation of atherosclerosis.