Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026
Lumped-Parameter and Finite Element Modeling of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction
Published on: February 13, 2021
Impact of Hypertension and Physical Exercise on Hemolysis Risk in the Left Coronary Artery: A Computational Fluid
Krystian Jędrzejczak1,2, Wojciech Orciuch1, Krzysztof Wojtas1
1Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Waryńskiego 1, 00-645 Warsaw, Poland.
Insights
Hypertension and intense physical activity significantly increase the risk of red blood cell (RBC) hemolysis, potentially leading to clot formation and myocardial hypoxia. This highlights the combined danger of high blood pressure and strenuous exercise.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Hemodynamics
Background:
- Hypertension and atherosclerosis contribute to arterial stiffness and wall stress, damaging artery walls.
- Combined conditions lead to stenosis and angiopathies, causing mechanical hemolysis of red blood cells (RBCs).
- Hemolysis releases harmful substances and impairs vascular function, increasing cardiovascular risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the impact of hypertension and physical exercise on hemolysis risk in the left coronary artery.
- To model blood flow dynamics under varying hypertension and exercise conditions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with ANSYS Fluent.
- Developed a flow model incorporating hydraulic resistance dependent on hypertension and exercise.
- Validated CFD results against fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations, finding negligible differences.
Main Results:
- Increased blood flow, particularly with exercise, dramatically elevated pressure drops and hemolysis risk.
- Hypertension alone showed a less substantial increase in hemolysis risk compared to exercise.
- The combination of hypertension and increased physical activity presented the highest hemolysis risk, linked to clot formation and potential myocardial hypoxia.
Conclusions:
- Hypertension and increased physical exercise synergistically elevate the risk of hemolysis.
- This heightened hemolysis risk is a critical factor in cardiovascular events like clot formation and arterial blockage.
Abstract:
Background and Objectives: Hypertension increases the risk of developing atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness, with secondarily enhanced wall stress pressure that damages the artery wall. The coexistence of atherosclerosis and hypertension leads to artery stenosis and microvascular angiopathies, during which the intravascular mechanical hemolysis of red blood cells (RBCs) occurs, leading to increased platelet activation, dysfunction of the endothelium and smooth muscle cells due to a decrease in nitric oxide, and the direct harmful effects of hemoglobin and iron released from the red blood cells. This study analyzed the impact of hypertension and physical exercise on the risk of hemolysis in the left coronary artery. Methods: To analyze many different cases and consider the decrease in flow through narrowed arteries, a flow model was adopted that considered hydraulic resistance in the distal section, which depended on the conditions of hypertension and exercise. The commercial ANSYS Fluent 2023R2 software supplemented with user-defined functions was used for the simulation. CFD simulations were performed and compared with the FSI simulation results. Results: The differences obtained between the FSI and CFD simulations were negligible, which allowed the continuation of analyses based only on CFD simulations. The drops in pressure and the risk of hemolysis increased dramatically with increased flow associated with increased exercise. A relationship was observed between the increase in blood pressure and hypertension, but in this case, the increase in blood pressure dropped, and the risk of hemolysis was not so substantial. However, by far, the case of increased physical activity with hypertension had the highest risk of hemolysis, which is associated with an increased risk of clot formation that can block distal arteries and lead to myocardial hypoxia. Conclusions: The influence of hypertension and increased physical exercise on the increased risk of hemolysis has been demonstrated.
More Related Videos
13:07Optical Coherence Tomography Based Biomechanical Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis of Coronary Atherosclerosis Progression
Published on: January 15, 2022
06:18Intravascular Ultrasound Image-Based Finite Element Modeling Approach for Quantifying In Vivo Mechanical Properties of Human Coronary Artery
Published on: December 6, 2024
Related Concept Videos
01:28Factors affecting Blood pressure
Physiological Factors:
01:17Exercise and Cardiac Output
Sustained exercise increases the muscles' oxygen demand, which can be met...
01:20Exercise and Cardiovascular Response
Light to moderate physical activity initiates a series of interconnected responses in the body. The heart rate modestly increases in anticipation of the workout, followed by widespread vasodilation as oxygen consumption by skeletal muscles increases. This results in decreased peripheral resistance, increased capillary blood flow, and accelerated...
01:30Coronary Artery Disease I: Introduction
01:29Heart Failure II: Pathophysiology
01:29Hypertension II: Pathophysiology