Spiral geometry in coronary arteries can increase flow resistance by 20-80% compared to straight segments, similar to the resistance seen in sinuous vessels.
May warrant inclusion of spiral geometry in coronary flow models; leaves open translation to human physiology and outcomes.
Coronary flow estimates were made for a spiral coronary artery segment (identified from a post-mortem replica casting) by using a modified Dean number based on the approximate coil radius of curvature, as suggested earlier. The estimates were found to correlate experimental pressure drop data for helical coiled tubes. Over a physiological range of mean Reynolds numbers from 100 to 400 for blood flow through main coronary arteries, estimates of the flow resistance increase relative to a straight lumen segment ranged from about 20 to 80 percent, and were of similar magnitude to those found in a flow study in a sinuous coronary vessel segment with no spiral.
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Back et al. (2000) studied this question.
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