A linear propagation model adapted to the study of fast perturbations in arterial hemodynamics

The hemodynamic effect of rapid body accelerations is studied in this work using two different models of wave propagation in blood vessels. Simulation curves have been obtained with both models and compared with those measured in vivo on a dog's carotid artery. Results of the first model demonstrate that classic linear theories, based on linearization of the Navier-Stokes and continuity equations, provide a good explanation of the initial effect of body acceleration on pressure. However, the same models significantly underestimate the subsequent pressure perturbation damping. Modified empirical expressions for wave propagation, able to furnish a more accurate description of pressure energy losses occurring during fast hemodynamic phenomena, are thus utilized in the second model and their biophysical significance discussed.