Techniques and Applications of Three Dimensional Blood Flow through Arterial Structures

17.1 1.1 Introduction

Occlusive arterial disease is one of the chief causes of death in most of the western world. A narrowing or stenosis in an artery would almost invariably interfere with the proper flow of blood in the vessel, producing regions of high fluid stress, elevated wall shear stress and recirculation of flow. These flow conditions may eventually cause serious pathological problems such as endothelial damage, hemolysis, thrombosis and other injury within the artery. Thus, it is not surprising that the study of blood flow through stenosed arteries has been the subject of numerous studies in the past few decades.

However, despite the vast amount of studies carried out in this area, the causes of arterial stenoses remain largely unknown. Many studies employing epidemiological techniques have been performed to determine the factors associated with arterial diseases. Factors such as age, sex, cigarette smoking, hypertension and high cholesterol level have been identified as...