In the United States, cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women. Heart attacks and strokes can happen because of atherosclerosis, or plaque build-up inside arteries, which obstruct blood flow to the heart and brain. One common site of atherosclerosis is the carotid artery bifurcation. This study looks at how the angle between the branching arteries of the bifurcation affects the potential for atherosclerosis by running flow simulations through virtual models of the bifurcation. The higher the wall shear stress, turbulence intensity, and turbulence kinetic energy at the bifurcation, the lower the chance of atherosclerosis. There is an optimal angle at which this occurs.
