Finite element analysis of ventricular wall motion and intra-ventricular blood flow in heart with myocardial infarction

Abstract

To study the wall motion abnormality and characteristic flow distribution observed in the heart with myocardial infarction, we modified our finite element model of left ventricle and performed simulations at two different phases after the onset of the disease by applying characteristic material property to the infarcted region. The model could not only reproduce the hemodynamic change in myocardial infarction but also give mechanistic insight into the following complicating problems. 1) Stagnation of blood as the cause of clot formation 2) Extra energy wasted for the stretch of infarcted tissue. The effect of compensatory enhancement of the force generation in normal myocardial tissue is also discussed.