Abstract
The interest in the use of mathematical modeling and numerical simulation in the study of the cardiovascular system (and its inherent pathologies) has greatly increased in the past few years. Blood flow interacts mechanically and chemically with vessel walls producing a complex fluid-structure interaction problem, which is practically impossible to simulate in its entirety.
Several reduced models have been developed which may give a reasonable approximation of averaged quantities, such as mean flow rate and pressure, in different sections of the cardiovascular system. They are, however, unable to provide the details often needed for understanding a local behavior, such as, e.g., the effect on the shear stress distribution due a modification in the blood flow consequent to a partial vessel stenosis.
