A numerical approach for the assessment of obesity-induced vascular changes in children

Obesity in children and adolescents has taken epidemic proportions in recent years and has become one of the major challenges of the 21st century. Primarily a dietary disease, obesity is believed to accelerate the initiation and progression of endothelial dysfunction [1], one of the early biological markers for atherosclerotic lesions that underlie most cardiovascular diseases. Several markers have been proposed to help the clinical assessment of endothelial damage in high-risk paediatric patients. In obese children, arterial changes can painlessly be evaluated with measurements of the aortic and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and flowmediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial, radial and femoral arteries [2]. Pulse wave analysis is additionally utilised to assess arterial stiffness, distensibility and compliance. This study observes childhood obesity under the magnifying lens of blood flow mechanics associated with obesity-induced vascular changes. The scope is to develop a safe and high-fidelity multi-scale computational tool for prognostic markers and predictive personalised care of obesity-related cardiovascular diseases, and transfer it into the paediatric reality. The current presentation will discuss a computational model of an arterial conduit during FDM.