Abstract

We propose a computational model of a human heart including three-dimensional descriptions for electrophysiology, solid mechanics and fluid dynamics of the blood, aiming at reproducing the feedback mechanisms that occur within the heart. The model is obtained combining standalone physical models used in the cardiac modeling literature, introducing coupling terms, resulting in a multi-way coupled integrated model. We numerically solve the model with a staggered scheme. Fluid dynamics and solid mechanics are coupled implicitly with a monolithic scheme. The staggered scheme allows to select different timesteps for the different core models, leveraging the multiscale and multiphysics nature of the model. Simulations results on a realistic human heart model are consistent with the behavior shown by healthy hearts.