Pressure wave propagation in a multibranched model of the human upper limb.

The influence of the large arteries and the peripheral load on pressure wave propagation in the human upper limb was investigated in an anatomically realistic multibranched model based on linear transmission theory. To mimic vascular changes seen in life, the viscoelastic properties of large arteries and the peripheral load properties (represented as modified windkessels) were altered as follows: Young's modulus (from 10.9 x 10(6) to 15.3 x 10(6) dyn/cm2) and phase (from 0 to 15 degrees) of the complex elastance, windkessel time constant (from 0 to 0.6 s), and peripheral reflection coefficient (from 0 to 0.95). The relationship between the central aortic and peripheral radial pressure waveforms was analyzed in the time and the frequency domain. Results indicate that the large arterial properties have less influence (peak systolic pressure changed by 3% and peak of transfer function changed by 29%) than the properties of the peripheral load (systolic pressure changed by 14% and peak of transfer function changed by 74%) on the pressure wave propagation in the upper limb.