Remodeling of arterial wall in response to blood pressure and blood flow changes

摘要

It is well known that arterial wall remodels in response to stress. For example, Matsumoto and Hayashi have demonstrated in the rat that the elevation of blood pressure, namely sustained hypertension, induces wall hypertrophy, keeping wall hoop stress at normal level. On one hand, Kamiya and Togawa have shown in the canine that with increase and decrease in blood flow, arteries dilate and constrict, respectively, keeping wall shear rate at normal level. For the past decade, many studies have been done on these phenomena, in particular on arterial response to change in blood flow. Most of those studies have been done on the effects of a single change of blood pressure or blood flow. However, relatively little is known about the effects of simultaneous change of blood pressure and blood flow. Thus, the present study has been done to know the biomechanical response of arterial wall to the combinations of hypertension and low blood flow, and hypertension and high blood flow. The results obtained were compared with those observed under hypertension, low flow, high flow, and control conditions.