Investigation of Wall Shear Stress Over an Early Atherosclerotic Plaque in the Left Coronary Artery of a Patient by Intravascular Ultrasound and Computational Fluid Dynamics

A small isolated region with mild atherosclerotic thickening in the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was identified in a relatively young patient using invasive coronary angiography. The left main (LM) coronary artery and LAD were reconstructed based on biplanar angiography images and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). The flow field in the lumen was simulated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with Doppler-measured flow boundary conditions. The results offer insight into the local flow environment in the neighborhood of an early atherosclerotic plaque in a specific human subject under in vivo conditions. The investigation is continuing with other patients who have mild plaques in the left coronary artery in an effort to elucidate in vivo atherogenesis.