Diagnostics (Aug 2023)

Mechanism Analysis of Vascular Calcification Based on Fluid Dynamics

  • Shuwan Xu,
  • Feng Wang,
  • Peibiao Mai,
  • Yanren Peng,
  • Xiaorong Shu,
  • Ruqiong Nie,
  • Huanji Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13162632
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 16
p. 2632

Abstract

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Vascular calcification is the abnormal deposition of calcium phosphate complexes in blood vessels, which is regarded as the pathological basis of multiple cardiovascular diseases. The flowing blood exerts a frictional force called shear stress on the vascular wall. Blood vessels have different hydrodynamic properties due to discrepancies in geometric and mechanical properties. The disturbance of the blood flow in the bending area and the branch point of the arterial tree produces a shear stress lower than the physiological magnitude of the laminar shear stress, which can induce the occurrence of vascular calcification. Endothelial cells sense the fluid dynamics of blood and transmit electrical and chemical signals to the full-thickness of blood vessels. Through crosstalk with endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells trigger osteogenic transformation, involved in mediating vascular intima and media calcification. In addition, based on the detection of fluid dynamics parameters, emerging imaging technologies such as 4D Flow MRI and computational fluid dynamics have greatly improved the early diagnosis ability of cardiovascular diseases, showing extremely high clinical application prospects.

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