Hypotensive Blood Flow in Six Millimeter and Eight Millimeter PTFE Arterio-Venous Fistulas

PTFE grafts of 6 mm and 8 mm internal diameter are the most commonly used sizes for dialysis access. Hypotension is a common cause of thrombosis in this type of arteriovenous fistula. In the animal model, stasis develops in both sizes equally during hypotension despite the theoretical advantage of lower resistance in the 8 mm graft. This indicates that internal graft diameter is not significant for prevention of stasis in dialysis access grafts at physiological and hypotensive BP levels.