The Need to Shift from Morphological to Structural Assessment for Carotid Plaque Vulnerability

Overview

Journal Biomedicines

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2022 Dec 23

PMID 36551791

Authors

Yuqiao Xiang

Xianjue Huang

Jessica Benitez Mendieta

Jiaqiu Wang

Phani Kumari Paritala

Thomas Lloyd

Zhiyong Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Degree of luminal stenosis is generally considered to be an important indicator for judging the risk of atherosclerosis burden. However, patients with the same or similar degree of stenosis may have significant differences in plaque morphology and biomechanical factors. This study investigated three patients with carotid atherosclerosis within a similar range of stenosis. Using our developed fluid-structure interaction (FSI) modelling method, this study analyzed and compared the morphological and biomechanical parameters of the three patients. Although their degrees of carotid stenosis were similar, the plaque components showed a significant difference. The distribution range of time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS) of patient 2 was wider than that of patient 1 and patient 3. Patient 2 also had a much smaller plaque stress compared to the other two patients. There were significant differences in TAWSS and plaque stresses among three patients. This study suggests that plaque vulnerability is not determined by a single morphological factor, but rather by the combined structure. It is necessary to transform the morphological assessment into a structural assessment of the risk of plaque rupture.

Citing Articles

Non-Invasive Tools in Perioperative Stroke Risk Assessment for Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Stenosis with a Focus on the Circle of Willis.

Lengyel B, Magyar-Stang R, Pal H, Debreczeni R, Sandor A, Szekely A J Clin Med. 2024; 13(9).

PMID: 38731014 PMC: 11084304. DOI: 10.3390/jcm13092487.

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