Physics of Coronary Blood Flow

Coronary blood flow is blood flow to the heart for its own metabolic needs. In the most common form of heart disease there is a disruption in this flow because of obstructive disease in the vessels that carry the flow. The subject of coronary blood flow is therefore associated mostly with the pathophysiology of this disease, rarely with dynamics or physics. Yet, the system responsible for coronary blood flow, namely the "coronary circulation", is a highly sophisticated dynamical system in which the dynamics and physics of the flow are as important as the integrity of the conducting vessels. While an obstruction in the conducting vessels is a fairly obvious and clearly visible cause of disruption in coronary blood flow, any discord in the complex dynamics of the system can cause an equally grave, though less conspicuous, disruption in the flow.§This book is devoted to the dynamics and physics of coronary blood flow. While it recognizes the range of clinical and pathophysiological issues involved, the book focuses on dynamics and physics, approaching the subject from a biomedical engineering viewpoint. With this approach, the book will complement other books on the subject that have so far focused largely on clinical and pathophysiological issues.§The author, originally trained in fluid dynamics, has been teaching and working on the dynamics of blood flow in general and coronary blood flow in particular for the past thirty years and has produced a book that will appeal to physicians, physicists and engineers.Coronary blood flow is blood flow to the heart for its own metabolic needs. In the most common form of heart disease there is a disruption in this flow because of obstructive disease in the vessels that carry the flow. The subject of coronary blood flow is therefore associated mostly with the pathophysiology of this disease, rarely with dynamics or physics. Yet, the system responsible for coronary blood flow, namely the "coronary circulation," is a highly sophisticated dynamical system in which the dynamics and physics of the flow are as important as the integrity of the conducting vessels. While an obstruction in the conducting vessels is a fairly obvious and clearly visible cause of disruption in coronary blood flow, any discord in the complex dynamics of the system can cause an equally grave, though less conspicuous, disruption in the flow.§This book is devoted specifically to the dynamics and physics of coronary blood flow. While relevance to the clinical and pathophysiological issues is clearly maintained, the book approaches the subject from a biomedical engineering point of view. With this perspective, the Physics of Coronary Blood Flow complements other treatments of the subject that focus largely on the clinical and pathophysiological issues. §The author, originally trained in fluid dynamics, has been teaching and working on the dynamics of blood flow in general and coronary blood flow in particular for the past thirty years and has produced a book that will appeal to physicians, physicists and engineers.