Computational Models of Vascular Mechanics

Many of the world’s leading causes of death involve pathology of the vasculature, both arterial and venous. In addition to the biochemical and genetic factors governing vascular health and disease, mechanics strongly modulates the form and function of the vessel wall. Biomechanical analysis is being increasingly used to not only elucidate key disease processes, but also to predict disease progression and response to therapeutic and surgical intervention on a patient-specific basis. This chapter reviews some of the recent advances in computational vascular mechanics, with references to key works in constitutive modeling, fluid-structure interaction, image-based modeling, and atherosclerotic plaque mechanics.