Measurement and prediction of flow through a replica segment of a mildly atherosclerotic coronary artery of man.

Pressure distributions were measured along a hollow vascular axisymmetric replica of a segment of the left circumflex coronary artery of man with mildly atherosclerotic diffuse disease. A large range of physiological Reynolds numbers from about 60 to 500, including hyperemic response, was spanned in the flow investigation using a fluid simulating blood kinematic viscosity. Predicted pressure distributions from the numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations were similar in trend and magnitude to the measurements. Large variations in the predicted velocity profiles occurred along the lumen. The influence of the smaller scale multiple flow obstacles along the wall (lesion variations) led to sharp spikes in the predicted wall shear stresses. Reynolds number similarity was discussed, and estimates of what time averaged in vivo pressure drop and shear stress might be were given for a vessel segment.