Assessing the influence of heart rate in local hemodynamics through coupled 3D-1D-0D models

In this study, a coupled dimensionally-heterogeneous model of the systemic circulation is applied in order to study computationally the influence of the heart rate in the local hemodynamics. This is achieved by using a 3D-1D-0D model of the whole arterial tree accounting for: details of the local blood flow in the vessel of interest through 3D models, the wave propagation phenomena in the larger arteries by means of ID models and, the peripheral microvascular beds via OD models. Two applications are presented which aim at assessing the influence of the global setting of the vascular network on the local hemodynamics. In the first example, the hemodynamics in a patient-specific model of the abdominal aorta is studied for two different systemic scenarios corresponding to different resting heart rates. In the second example, the blood flow in a standardized model of the carotid artery is analyzed for different heart rates including the resting state and several other exercise regimes. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.