Modelling of the mechanobiological adaptation to vascular occlusion in the arterial tree

Sammanfattning: It is known that there are many cardiovascular diseases caused by the alterations in the blood vessels, that affect most of the world population. The knowledge of the mechanobiological behavior of blood vessels is used for understanding how cardiovascular diseases could affect the human body. So, by studying the growth and remodeling (G&R) of the arterial tree, it is possible to predict how these diseases will develop and consequently, how they can be treated or even prevented. The human body naturally tries to find the optimum steady-state by changing either the production of the constituents of the arteries or the flow rate through blood vessels. This effect is the phenomenon that is going to be studied in this thesis and these three main factors have to be taken into account when reproducing the diseases’ effects: the so-called transmural pressure, the blood flow rate, and the biomechanics of the constituents which form the arterial wall. Therefore, through numerical simulations the variation of these factors can be predicted, although always with a reliability supported by experimental data.