RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Fluid-structure interaction simulation of tissue degradation and its effects on intra-aneurysm hemodynamics
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.09.01.458529
DO 10.1101/2021.09.01.458529
A1 Haifeng Wang
A1 Klemens Uhlmann
A1 Vijay Vedula
A1 Daniel Balzani
A1 Fathollah Varnik
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/09/02/2021.09.01.458529.abstract
AB Tissue degradation plays a crucial role in vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and aneurysms. We present a novel finite element method-based approach to model the microscopic degradation of an aneurysmal wall due to its interaction with blood flow. The model is applied to study the combined effects of pulsatile flow and tissue degradation on the deformation and intra-aneurysm hemodynamics. Our computational analysis reveals that tissue degradation leads to a weakening of the aneurysmal wall, which manifests itself in a larger deformation and a smaller von Mises stress. Moreover, simulation results for different heart rates, blood pressures and aneurysm geometries indicate consistently that, upon tissue degradation, wall shear stress increases near the flow-impingement region and decreases away from it. These findings are discussed in the context of recent reports regarding the role of both high and low wall shear stress for the progression and rupture of aneurysms.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.