Multiscale modeling of the cardiovascular system for infants, children, and adolescents: Age-related alterations in cardiovascular parameters and hemodynamics.

While zero- and one-dimensional multiscale modeling of the adult cardiovascular system (CVS) has been recognized as a useful tool in cardiovascular research and clinical applications, there are still not any generic cardiovascular models for a broad range of age groups. To study age-related alterations in cardiovascular parameters and hemodynamics, we here presented a versatile multiscale cardiovascular model considering the cardiovascular growth and development during aging. An adult cardiovascular model was first established by utilizing population-averaged physiological data. We then introduced an allometric scaling law-based approach to estimate age-related cardiovascular parameters for infants, children, and adolescents, by using the newly defined scaling exponents for different types of cardiovascular parameters. The model was validated to be capable of predicting the age-related alterations in hemodynamics through a comprehensive comparison with available in vivo measurements. Moreover, a variance-based global sensitivity analysis was performed for all cardiovascular parameters under normal and abnormal conditions to identify which are the most important model inputs in affecting model outputs. Our results indicate that the present generic cardiovascular model provides a robust and useful tool for evaluating normal cardiovascular functions over a broad age range for biomedical engineering applications.

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