†These authors contributed equally.
Academic Editor: Peter A. McCullough
Backgrounds: Coronary cavitation is supposed to be generated by both
concentric and eccentric coronary artery stenosis which propagates downstream the
vessel, creating microbubbles which exploded when the fluid pressure was lower
than the vapor pressure at a local thermodynamic state. Objective: To assess,
using numerical and computational fluid dynamic analysis (CFD), the potential of
cavitation to both induce damage to coronary artery endothelium and to promote
atherosclerotic plaque progression. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed
the data 12 consecutive patients evaluated between 1st January 2013 and 1st
January 2014 with an isolated hemodynamically significant Left Main (LM) disease.
The patient specific geometries have been reconstructed. Bubble velocity has been
calculated in accordance with Newton’s second law. Both the forces arising from
the bubbles’ interaction with the continuous phase and impact with the
endothelium have been evaluated. The impact of turbulence on the motion of
bubbles have been modelled with a dispersion model. Results: Among the
12 patients retrospectively analysed [8 males, mean age 68.2