The Role of Biomarkers on Haemodynamics in Atherosclerotic Artery

TL;DR

This paper models plaque growth in atherosclerotic arteries and explores how biomarkers like troponin relate to arterial clearance, providing insights into disease progression and potential early detection methods.

Contribution

It introduces a two-phase macroscopic model linking troponin levels to lumen clearance, enhancing understanding of plaque evolution in advanced atherosclerosis.

Findings

Plaque growth slows as it reaches a steady state.

Lumen clearance decreases gradually over time.

Troponin levels positively correlate with plaque depth.

Abstract

Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory cardiovascular disease, leads to arterial constriction caused by the accumulation of lipids, cholesterol, and various substances within artery walls. Such plaque can rupture, resulting in a blood clot that obstructs major arteries and may initiate myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, etc. Atherosclerotic plaque formation begins with the accumulation of foam cells and macrophages within the intima layer of the arterial wall. At the latter stage, the smooth muscle cells migrated from deeper artery wall layers, contributing to the fibrous cap formation and plaque stabilizing. A developed plaque gradually enters the lumen and narrows down the lumen to impede blood flow. We introduce a two-phase and macroscopic model to investigate the progression of plaque growth in its advanced stage and analyze the minimum gap (Lumen Clearance) within an atherosclerotic artery so that blood cells can pass through. Cardiac troponin, a high specificity and sensitivity biomarker, facilitates early detection of elevated myocardial infarction, Ischemic stroke, etc. risks. This study aims to establish a relationship between the troponin concentration in atherosclerotic arteries and their internal clearance, which could significantly improve our understanding of disease progression. Our observations show that the plaque undergoes rapid evolution in its initial stages, gradually slowing down over time to reach a steady state. At the same time, the lumen clearance exhibits an opposite behavior, decreasing slowly over time. Our study finds a positive correlation between plaque depth and troponin concentration in the blood and a negative relationship between troponin concentrations and lumen clearance in atherosclerotic arteries.