Hemodynamic disturbance due to serial stenosis in human coronary bifurcations: a computational fluid dynamics study

Surgical treatment of coronary bifurcation in presence of two lesions is problematic due to postclinical complications. In recent years, fractional flow reserve has emerged as a valuable tool for assessing the functional severity of coronary stenosis in clinical practice. Numerical studies have facilitated prediction by idealized patient-specific biomechanical models. However, overall bifurcation hemodynamics in presence of stenotic lesions still needs to be better understood, to improve clinical intervention and reduce associated risks. In this chapter, we study the influence of serial stenotic coronary lesions on coronary blood flow, using a parametric model. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were carried out to characterize hemodynamic changes and fractional flow reserve according to various stenosis configurations and degrees of severity.