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A comparison between the principal stress direction and collagen fiber orientation in coronary atherosclerotic plaque fibrous caps

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Abstract

The rupture of coronary atherosclerotic plaque fibrous caps has been associated with acute myocardial infarctions. Collagen fibers, the main structural component of vascular tissue, have been observed to change orientation and align themselves with the principal stress direction. This study compared the principal stress direction in stenosed coronary arteries obtained from 3D fluid–structure interaction simulations to the orientation of collagen fibers in the fibrous cap of human specimens. The principal stress direction at the peak of the stenosis was found to be axially oriented and correlated well with the determined orientation of the collagen fibers in the fibrous cap specimens.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H3A 0C3, Canada

    Catherine Pagiatakis, Ramses Galaz & Rosaire Mongrain

  2. Montreal Heart Institute, 5000 Belanger Street, Montreal, QC, H1T 1C8, Canada

    Jean-Claude Tardif

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  1. Catherine Pagiatakis
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  2. Ramses Galaz
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  3. Jean-Claude Tardif
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  4. Rosaire Mongrain
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Correspondence to Rosaire Mongrain.

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Pagiatakis, C., Galaz, R., Tardif, JC. et al. A comparison between the principal stress direction and collagen fiber orientation in coronary atherosclerotic plaque fibrous caps. Med Biol Eng Comput 53, 545–555 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-015-1257-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-015-1257-z

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