On the nonlinear relationship between wall shear stress topology and multi-directionality in coronary atherosclerosis

Background and Objective: In this paper we investigate twelve multi-directional/topological wall shear stress (WSS) derived metrics and their relationships with the formation of coronary plaques in both com-putational fluid dynamics (CFD) and dynamic fluid-structure interaction (FSI) frameworks. While low WSS is one of the most established biomechanical markers associated with coronary atherosclerosis progres-sion, alone it is limited. Multi-directional and topological WSS derived metrics have been shown to be important in atherosclerosis related mechanotransduction and near-wall transport processes. However, the relationships between these twelve WSS metrics and the influence of both FSI simulations and coro-nary dynamics is understudied. Methods: We first investigate the relationships between these twelve WSS derived metrics, stenosis per-centage and lesion length through a parametric, transient CFD study. Secondly, we extend the parametric study to FSI, both with and without the addition of coronary dynamics, and assess their correlations. Fi-nally, we present the case of a patient who underwent invasive coronary angiography and optical coher-ence tomography imaging at two time points 18 months apart. Associations between each of the twelve WSS derived metrics in CFD, static FSI and dynamic FSI simulations were assessed against areas of posi-tive/negative vessel remodelling, and changes in plaque morphology. Results: 22-32% stenosis was the threshold beyond which adverse multi-directional/topological WSS re-sults. Each metric produced a different relationship with changing stenoses and lesion length. Transient haemodynamics was impacted by coronary dynamics, with the topological shear variation index sup-pressed by up to 94%. These changes appear more critical at smaller stenosis levels, suggesting coronary dynamics could play a role in the earlier stages of atherosclerosis development. In the patient case, both dynamics and FSI vs CFD changes altered associations with measured changes in plaque morphology. An appendix of the linear fits between the various FSI-and CFD-based simulations is provided to assist in scaling CFD-based results to resemble the compliant walled characteristics of FSI more accurately. Conclusions: These results highlight the potential for coronary dynamics to alter multi-directional/topological WSS metrics which could impact associations with changes in coronary atherosclerosis over time. These results warrant further investigation in a wider range of morpho-logical settings and longitudinal cohort studies in the future. (c) 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V.