A three-dimensional fluid–structure interaction model of blood flow for analyzing hyper-viscous effects on patients suffering from Coronavirus Disease 2019

In the past five years following the onset of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), there has been growing research interest in the impact of blood hyper-viscosity in affected patients due to the association of blood hyper-viscosity with acute hemodynamic disturbances and possible long-term health complications. Several studies have attempted to investigate the effects of increased blood viscosity on flow dynamics in both healthy and stenosed arteries of COVID-19 patients. Recent advancements in this field have also explored the morphological and anatomical changes induced by the virus, with clinical analyses indicating a significant rise in blood viscosity among patients with acute COVID-19 infection. The objective of the current study is to examine the hemodynamic behavior within the carotid artery of COVID-affected individuals, taking into account the elastic properties of arterial walls. This investigation employs the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian framework to accurately model the fluid–structure interaction (FSI). By solving the coupled fluid and structural equations using a two-way FSI approach, the simulation results demonstrated that elevated wall shear stresses and reduced velocity resulting from hyper-viscous blood flow may contribute to the endothelial dysfunction.