Arterial remodeling in response to increased blood flow using a constituent-based model

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Previous models assumed constant arterial material properties during remodeling.
• Experimental data show elastin's stiffness decreases with increased blood flow.
• This change in mechanical properties was not previously modeled.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a predictive model for arterial remodeling.
• To incorporate changes in elastin's mechanical properties.
• To link intimal shear stress to elastin's stiffness variation.

Main Methods:

• Modeled the artery as a thick-walled, anisotropic, incompressible tube.
• Used a constrained mixture approach for material properties.
• Incorporated intimal shear stress as the driving factor for elastin property changes.
• Utilized rabbit thoracic aorta data.

Main Results:

• The model predicts arterial remodeling driven by intimal shear stress deviations.
• Geometrical remodeling aims to restore normal wall stress distribution.
• Predicted a non-monotonic relationship between arterial compliance and flow magnitude.
• Results align with existing experimental findings.

Conclusions:

• The proposed model accurately captures arterial remodeling with changing elastin properties.
• Intimal shear stress is a key initiator of mechanical property variations.
• The model provides a more realistic prediction of arterial response to flow changes.