The cardiovascular system is a dynamic, cyclically loaded, pressure-driven flow system that involves ongoing mechanical feedback loops directing cell response and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, which sustain homeostasis of the system, guide adaptive remodeling of the vessel wall, and perpetuate disease progression. Mechanotransduction thus represents an important mechanism in determining vascular health and disease response, and can be exploited to provide improved vascular treatments. This chapter reviews research related to cardiovascular mechanobiology, focusing on two main topics: (i) arterial wall mechanics and mechanobiology, and their exploitation in understanding arterial disease progression and therapeutics; and (ii) the role of computational hemodynamics in cardiovascular mechanobiology, and its exploitation in vascular graft application.
