Computational modelling of blood flow through curved stenosed arteries

A computational model of three-dimensional blood flow in curved arteries with elliptic stenosis was developed. Two groups of models, (a) different angles of curvature and (b) degrees of stenosis, have been studied under typical conditions for stenosed coronary artery. Useful information on the haemodynamics has been obtained. Results of pressure drop show that the presence of the curvature augments the increased flow resistance due to stenotic lesions. The study also demonstrates the significant presence of secondary flow in a curved artery. In addition, the results have shown that the secondary flow in a curved artery brings about elevated shear stress on the vessel wall. These results indicated that both curvature and stenosis should be considered together by cardiologists to assess or quantify the severity of the stenosis. This study employed a powerful computer-aided design (CAD) package to construct the model and a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code for the analysis of blood flow in stenosed arteries. The long-term application of this form of research promises to be an effective tool for gaining insights into the pathology of arterial diseases.