Effects of Antiplatelet Drugs on Blood Flow through Stenosed Blood Vessels

Abstract

Antiplatelet drugs block the formation of blood clots by preventing the clumping of platelets inside arteries, particularly in individuals who have atherosclerosis of their arteries, or are otherwise prone to develop blood clots in their arteries. Atherosclerosis is a slow disease in which arteries become clogged and hardened. Fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances form plaque, which builds up in arteries. Hard plaque narrows the passage that blood flows through. That causes arteries to become hard and inflexible. Soft plaque is more likely to break free from the artery wall and cause a blood clot, which can block blood flow to vital organs. In this paper an attempt has been made to investigate the effects of antiplatelet drugs on blood flow and significance of non-Newtonian viscosity through a stenosed artery using Herschel-Bulkely fluid model. Numerical illustration presented at the end of the paper provides the results for the resistance to flow, apparent viscosity and the wall shear stress through their graphical representations.