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PMID: 18543011 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

The arterial Windkessel.

Medical & biological engineering & computing ·Vol. 47 ·No. 2 ·2009-02-00 ·Pages 131-41

Westerhof N, Lankhaar JW, Westerhof BE

Abstract

Frank's Windkessel model described the hemodynamics of the arterial system in terms of resistance and compliance. It explained aortic pressure decay in diastole, but fell short in systole. Therefore characteristic impedance was introduced as a third element of the Windkessel model. Characteristic impedance links the lumped Windkessel to transmission phenomena (e.g., wave travel). Windkessels are used as hydraulic load for isolated hearts and in studies of the entire circulation. Furthermore, they are used to estimate total arterial compliance from pressure and flow; several of these methods are reviewed. Windkessels describe the general features of the input impedance, with physiologically interpretable parameters. Since it is a lumped model it is not suitable for the assessment of spatially distributed phenomena and aspects of wave travel, but it is a simple and fairly accurate approximation of ventricular afterload.

MeSH Terms
Aorta/physiology Arteries/physiology Hemodynamics/physiology Humans Models, Cardiovascular Vascular Resistance/physiology
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Westerhof Nico
Department of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, ICaR-VU, VU University Medical Center, van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. [email protected]
Lankhaar Jan-Willem
Westerhof Berend E
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Article Info
Journal
Medical & biological engineering & computing
Abbr.
Med Biol Eng Comput
ISSN
1741-0444
DOI
10.1007/s11517-008-0359-2
Email
[email protected]
Published
2009-02-00
Epub
2008-00-10
Pages
131-41
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7704869
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1007/s11517-008-0359-2 View journal details
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