Wall Motion and Atherogenesis

The amplitude of the stretching movements of the arterial wall associated with the excursion in blood pressure over the cardiac cycle may also be implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The relationship between diet-induced lesion localization and the degree of cyclic arterial wall stretching has been examined and the data suggest a direct relationship between increased wall motion and plaque deposition. Conversely, reduced cyclic arterial stretching results in sparing from atherosclerosis Further evidence for such an interpretation has been obtained in experiments in which cyclic stretching of short segments of aorta was restricted by encirclement, without narrowing, by a surrounding rigid tube [Tropea BI surgical forum and Tropea BI et al.] [pdf ].