Association of endothelial shear stress with plaque thickness in a real three-dimensional left main coronary artery bifurcation model

Int J Cardiol. 2007 Feb 7;115(2):276-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2006.04.030. Epub 2006 Jun 9.

Abstract

We report for the first time a real three-dimensional reconstruction of the left main coronary artery, left main bifurcation, left anterior descending coronary artery and left circumflex coronary artery using biplane angiography and intravascular ultrasound imaging in a patient with a proximal stenosis in the left anterior descending coronary artery. By using computational fluid dynamics in the three-dimensional luminal model we computed endothelial shear stress, while plaque thickness was calculated as the difference between the three-dimensional lumen and outer vessel wall; plaque thickness was found to be inversely related to endothelial shear stress in the left main coronary artery and bifurcation. The application of our methodology for real three-dimensional reconstruction of the left main coronary artery and bifurcation is useful for investigating the relationship of hemodynamic parameters with plaque thickness in this critical coronary region.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Coronary Artery Disease / pathology*
  • Coronary Artery Disease / physiopathology
  • Coronary Vessels / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Stress, Mechanical