Author(s)

E. S. Bernad, M. Craina & S. I. Bernad

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the hemodynamic parameters associated with the blood flow in failed coronary venous bypass grafts using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique. A narrowed section creates bypass graft constriction and disturbed flow. This change of the flow direction alters significantly the local hemodynamic parameters. In this paper, a patient specific three-dimensional bypass model is used to investigate blood flow in narrowed venous bypass grafts so as to understand the detailed flow physics of the transition to turbulence downstream of the graft narrowed section. Results of the simulation show that successive curvature and sudden narrowing of the bypass graft induce disturbance of the flow profile that produces high local wall shear stress (WSS) and large recirculation regions. Both these parameters create favorable conditions for the initiation of graft failure. Keywords: coronary artery diseases, bypass graft, numerical simulation.

Keywords

Keywords: coronary artery diseases, bypass graft, numerical simulation.