Influence of wall shear stress and geometry on the lumen surface concentration of low density lipoprotein in a model abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abstract

In this work, the correlation between the wall shear stress (WSS) and the surface concentration variation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) on the walls of an idealized abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is explored. It is observed that on the walls of AAA, the WSS has a significant effect on the LDL deposition pattern and a region of low WSS does not always correspond to a locally high concentration of LDL. The correlation between the WSS and the LDL deposition is found to be linked to the local fluid-flow pattern. This is explained by conducting an analysis on simplified geometries using steady inflow conditions that produced a fluid-flow pattern similar to that in the original AAA under physiologically relevant pulsatile inflow conditions. Furthermore, the influence of geometric parameters, such as the height, the width, and the shape of the aneurysm, on the surface concentration of LDL is studied. The width of the aneurysm is found to have a strong influence on the variation of the LDL surface concentration.