Anisotropic mechanical properties of tissue components in human atherosclerotic plaques

Knowledge of the biomechanical properties of human atherosclerotic plaques is of essential importance for developing more insights in the pathophysiology of the cardiovascular system and for better predicting the outcome of interventional treatments such as balloon angioplasty. Available data are mainly based on uniaxial tests, and most of the studies investigate the mechanical response of fibrous plaque caps only. However, stress distributions during, for example, balloon angioplasty are strongly influenced by all components of atherosclerotic lesions. A total number of 107 samples from nine human high-grade stenotic iliac arteries were tested; associated anamnesis of donors reported. Magnetic resonance imaging was employed to test the usability of the harvested arteries. Histological analyses has served to characterize the different tissue types. Prepared strips of 7 different tissue types underwent cyclic quasistatic uniaxial tension tests in axial and circumferential directions; ultimate tensile stresses and stretches were documented. Experimental data of individual samples indicated anisotropic and highly nonlinear tissue properties as well as considerable interspecimen differences. The calcification showed, however a linear property, with about the same stiffness as observed for the adventitia in high stress regions. The stress and stretch values at calcification fracture are smaller (179 +/- 56 kPa and 1.02 +/- 0.005) than for each of the other tissue components. Of all intimal tissues investigated, the lowest fracture stress occurred in the circumferential direction of the fibrous cap (254.8 +/- 79.8 kPa at stretch 1.182 +/- 0.1). The adventitia demonstrated the highest and the nondiseased media the lowest mechanical strength on average.