Hemodynamic effects of the geometric dimensions of graft vessels in coronary artery bypass graft models

The objectives of this investigation are to evaluate the rheologic properties in atherosclerotic disease treated with the various coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) models by numerical analysis, we used four different CABG models for the assessment of spatial fluctuation in wall shear stress, pressure variation and mass flow rate with Carreau model and Navier-Stokes equation. Wall shear stress was higher in a naturally tapered model (model 1) and a constant (non-tapered) diameter of the graft vessel the same as the distal LAD (model 4) than in others. Pressure variation along the native coronary artery and graft vessels was higher in a model 4, model 1 than in a reverse tapering model (model 2) and a constant diameter of the graft vessel the same as the proximal LAD (model 3). The mass flow rate of the distal part (kg/sec,.m(o)) was the highest in model 3. This study suggests that in vitro spatial simulation following CABG revealed that small caliber or tapered graft vessels have adverse hemodynamic effects on the native and graft vessels. By this technique it is possible to simulate the optimal distribution of local hemodynamic variables in patients treated with CABG, also to minimize the degeneration of graft vessel.