A computer model and numerical method for calculating left epicardial coronary blood flow has been developed. This model employs a finite-branching geometry of the coronary vasculature and the one-dimensional, unsteady equations for flow with friction. The epicardial coronary geometry includes the left main and its bifurcation, the left anterior descending and left circumflex coronary arteries, and a selected number of small branches. Each of the latter terminate in an impedance, whose resistive component is related to intramyocardial compression through a linear dependence on left ventricular pressure. The elastic properties of the epicardial arteries are taken to be non-linear and are prescribed by specifying the local small-disturbance wave speed. The model allows for the incorporation of multiple stenoses as well as aorto-coronary bypasses. Calculations using this model predict pressure and flow waveform development and allow for the systematic investigation of the dependence of coronary flow on various parameters, e.g., peripheral resistance, wall properties, and branching pattern, as well as the presence of stenoses and bypass grafts. Reasonable comparison between calculations and earlier experiments in horses has been obtained.
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November 1985
Research Papers
Epicardial Coronary Blood Flow Including the Presence of Stenoses and Aorto-Coronary Bypasses—I: Model and Numerical Method
E. Rooz,
E. Rooz
Physiological Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Tex. 77004
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T. F. Wiesner,
T. F. Wiesner
Physiological Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Tex. 77004
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R. M. Nerem
R. M. Nerem
Physiological Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Tex. 77004
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E. Rooz
Physiological Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Tex. 77004
T. F. Wiesner
Physiological Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Tex. 77004
R. M. Nerem
Physiological Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Tex. 77004
J Biomech Eng. Nov 1985, 107(4): 361-367 (7 pages)
Published Online: November 1, 1985
Article history
Received:
March 12, 1985
Revised:
July 26, 1985
Online:
June 15, 2009
Citation
Rooz, E., Wiesner, T. F., and Nerem, R. M. (November 1, 1985). "Epicardial Coronary Blood Flow Including the Presence of Stenoses and Aorto-Coronary Bypasses—I: Model and Numerical Method." ASME. J Biomech Eng. November 1985; 107(4): 361–367. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3138570
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