A Large-Scale, Energetic Model of Cardiovascular Homeostasis Predicts Dynamics of Arterial Pressure in Humans

The energetic balance of forces in the cardiovascular system is vital to the stability of blood flow to all physiological systems in mammals. Yet, a large-scale, theoretical model, summarizing the energetic balance of major forces in a single, mathematically closed system has not been described. Although a number of computer simulations have been successfully performed with the use of analog models, the analysis of energetic balance of forces in such models is obscured by a big number of interacting elements. Hence, the goal of our study was to develop a theoretical model that represents large-scale, energetic balance in the cardiovascular system, including the energies of arterial pressure wave, blood flow, and the smooth muscle tone of arterial walls. Because the emphasis of our study was on tracking beat-to-beat changes in the balance of forces, we used a simplified representation of the blood pressure wave as a trapezoidal pressure-pulse with a strong-discontinuity leading front. This allowed significant reduction in the number of required parameters. Our approach has been validated using theoretical analysis, and its accuracy has been confirmed experimentally. The model predicted the dynamics of arterial pressure in human subjects undergoing physiological tests and provided insights into the relationships between arterial pressure and pressure wave velocity.