Modeling essential hypertension with a closed‐loop mathematical model for the entire human circulation

Abstract

Arterial hypertension, defined as an increase in systemic arterial pressure, is a major risk factor for the development of diseases affecting the cardiovascular system. Every year, 9.4 million deaths worldwide are caused by complications arising from hypertension. Despite well‐established approaches to diagnosis and treatment, fewer than half of all hypertensive patients have adequately controlled blood pressure. In this scenario, computational models of hypertension can be a practical approach for better quantifying the role played by different components of the cardiovascular system in the determination of this condition. In the present work we adopt a global closed‐loop multi‐scale mathematical model for the entire human circulation to reproduce a hypertensive scenario. In particular, we modify the model to reproduce alterations in the cardiovascular system that are cause and/or consequence of the hypertensive state. The adaptation does not only affect large systemic arteries and the heart but also the microcirculation, the pulmonary circulation and the venous system. Model outputs for the hypertensive scenario are validated through assessment of computational results against current knowledge on the impact of hypertension on the cardiovascular system.

Estimation of local arterial stiffness using non-invasive flow measurements: a study on a stenosed carotid artery

“…Lumped or 0D models of the CVS have gained popularity due to their computational efficiency as compared to the higher or multi-dimensional models [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. In this work, an already developed 0D viscoelastic model of the stenosed carotid arteries is considered in which, the major carotid arteries are split into six arterial segments [20], see figure (1, top).…”

Editorial: Model organisms and experimental models: opportunities and challenges in vascular physiology research

“…The introduction of mathematical modeling of angiogenesis adds to our understanding of the applicability of these analyses combined with in vivo studies to better understand the process of sprouting and branching in angiogenesis ( Tonami et al, 2023 ). The application of mathematical modeling extends to all aspects of CVD studies ( Celant et al, 2023 ). Certainly, the development of novel models to study vascular diseases will continue to expand, providing avenues for high throughput analyses of diagnostic and therapeutic tools.…”