title: Pressure Drop in Tortuosity/Kinking of the Internal Carotid Artery: Simulation and Clinical Investigation.
abstract: Background. Whether carotid tortuosity/kinking of the internal carotid artery leads to cerebral ischemia remains unclear. There is very little research about the hemodynamic variation induced by carotid tortuosity/kinking in the literature. The objective of this study was to research the blood pressure changes induced by carotid tortuosity/kinking. Methods. We first created a geometric model of carotid tortuosity/kinking. Based on hemodynamic boundary conditions, the hemodynamics of carotid tortuosity and kinking were studied via a finite element simulation. Then, an in vitro system was built to validate the numerical simulation results. The mean arterial pressure changes before and after carotid kinking were measured using pressure sensors in 12 patients with carotid kinking. Results. Numerical simulation revealed that the pressure drops increased with increases in the kinking angles. Clinical tests and in vitro experiments confirmed the numerical simulation results. Conclusions. Carotid kinking leads to blood pressure reduction. In certain conditions, kinking may affect the cerebral blood supply and be associated with cerebral ischemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of the Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Daming
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Shen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Jiachun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of the Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
authors.forename: Zhilun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of the Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
authors.forename: Shiying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000503:physiopathology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000503:physiopathology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular