UC Riverside

A comprehensive investigation and analysis of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) transport in an artery is presented to demonstrate the molecular accumulation that can lead to atherosclerosis. This study paves the way for a better treatment and diagnosis of the cardiovascular disease. The impact of LDL accumulation and other pertinent characteristics within an artery due to pulsation, hypertension, plaque formation, lumen stenosis and hyperthermia are systematically examined.

A comprehensive multi-layered model is introduced to incorporate convection-diffusion-reaction and Staverman filtration effects. Endothelium and intima transport properties are obtained using both the micro-structure information as well as the experimental data. The results are analyzed and validated and an excellent agreement is observed when compared with the earlier works. Additional effects such as the heat and mass transfer, and elastic structure, are also considered and analyzed for LDL transport.

The effects of a deformable wall while incorporating the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) along with, plasma filtration and thermal expansion are accounted for. The fiber matrix model is utilized to link the cholesterol lipid accumulation and tissue proliferation to variable properties of intima. Pore theorem is applied to calculate the endothelium properties using the structural parameters for the endothelial junctions, which affect the elastic wall deformation. The hyperthermia along with the thermo-induced effects due to the thermal expansion and variable LDL diffusivity and consumption rate are analyzed. The coupling effects of Osmotic pressure, Sorret and Dufour diffusion are discussed and their domain of influence on LDL transport is established. A comprehensive investigation of plaque development and wall thickening, lumen stenosis and dysfunctional endothelium due to atherosclerosis is presented.