Effect of Vascular Stiffness on Pulmonary Flow in Normotensive and Hypertensive States: Numerical Study With Fluid Structure Interaction

Invasive measurement of pulmonary vascular flow and pressure provides the hemodynamic status of the pulmonary circulation for children with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Clinicians are primarily interested in pulmonary vascular resistance, which is the mean pressure of the circuit divided by the mean flow through it [1], in that it is believed to well-quantify the right ventricular (RV) afterload, the primary determinant of mortality. However, previous and current investigations on the pulmonary vascular stiffness (PVS), input impedance and RV power [2–4] have found PVS to be an important contributor to power, and thus, afterload. These previous and current investigations focus on the analysis of clinical data, which is limited by the clinical equipment and techniques.