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MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION

Computational insights on coronary artery function

Nature Cardiovascular Research volume 1, pages 691–693 (2022)Cite this article

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Collateral arteries may act as natural bypasses that reduce hypoperfusion after a coronary blockage. 3D imaging of neonatal and adult mouse hearts, plus human fetal and diseased adult hearts, is now used to computationally predict flow within the heart, and understand the cardioprotective role of collateral arteries in vivo.

Heart disease is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide1,2,3. Cardiomyocytes, the muscular working cells of the heart, have immense energetic and nutritive demands, which the coronary vasculature normally meets by constantly supplying oxygen, nutrients and hormones to the continuously pumping heart. However, blockage or occlusion of these vessels, as occurs in coronary artery disease, can lead to a heart attack or acute myocardial infarction, resulting in the death of potentially up to one billion myocytes distal to the infarcted region4. Unlike other species, myocytes in the adult human heart are considered terminally differentiated, with limited cell cycle activity. Thus, the irreversible loss of cardiomyocytes after myocardial infarction leads to the formation of permanent scars owing to extensive inflammation and compensatory fibrosis, which in turn results in cardiac stiffening and decreased contractility, and this adverse remodeling ultimately leads to heart failure.

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Fig. 1: Pipeline for image acquisition and computational prediction of flow dynamics in collaterals of the mouse heart after myocardial infarction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    David Mayerich

  2. Department of Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Joshua D. Wythe

  3. Cardiovascular Research Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Joshua D. Wythe

  4. Center for Organ Renewal and Repair, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Joshua D. Wythe

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  1. David Mayerich
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  2. Joshua D. Wythe
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Correspondence to Joshua D. Wythe.

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D.M. is a founder and stakeholder of Swift Front.

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Mayerich, D., Wythe, J.D. Computational insights on coronary artery function. Nat Cardiovasc Res 1, 691–693 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-022-00115-8

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