Key result
Wave reflections in the right coronary artery increase effective admittance, thereby enhancing rather than impeding coronary blood flow.
Computational modeling of the right coronary artery reveals that wave reflections enhance rather than impede coronary blood flow, challenging assumptions based on aortic hemodynamics.
Challenges aortic hemodynamics assumptions in animal modeling; leaves open human coronary translation.
Mechanics of blood flow in the coronary circulation have in the past been based largely on models in which the detailed architecture of the coronary network is not included because of lack of data: properties of individual vessels do not appear individually in the model but are represented collectively by the elements of a single electric circuit. Recent data from the human heart make it possible, for the first time, to examine the dynamics of flow in the coronary network based on detailed, measured vascular architecture. In particular, admittance values along the full course of the right coronary artery are computed based on actual lengths and diameters of the many thousands of branches which make up the distribution system of this vessel. The results indicate that effects of wave reflections on this flow are far more significant than those generally suspected to occur in coronary blood flow and that they are actually the reverse of the well known wave reflection effects in the aorta.
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M. Zamir (1998) studied Coronary blood flow (n=1). Wave reflections vs. Absence of wave reflections (characteristic admittance) was evaluated on Effective admittance along the right coronary artery. Wave reflections in the right coronary artery increase effective admittance, thereby enhancing rather than impeding coronary blood flow.
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