Chapter 18: Reduced Order Methods for Hemodynamics Applications

18.1 ▪ Introduction Ischemic cardiovascular diseases, e.g., coronary artery disease (CAD), and diseases causing blood regurgitation, such as mitral regurgitation (MR), are life-threatening events and therefore worth studying using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools. In CAD, plaque build-up causes partial or complete blockage in blood perfusion to the heart muscle and risk of ischemia, thrombosis, stroke, and heart attack. Likewise, severe MR leads to extra strain on the heart to fulfill the blood supply demand and can result in arterial hypertension, atrial fibrillation, stroke, and heart failure. Another cardiovascular problem worth exploring is the increased risk of aortic thrombosis in the left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) used to provide mechanical circulatory support during heart transplantation and destination therapy.