Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive circulatory assist device that has recently emerged as a treatment option for refractory angina in left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. This 2-year cohort study describes the long-term follow-up of patients who had severe LV dysfunction that was treated with EECP for angina pectoris and reports clinical outcomes, event-free survival rates...

INTRODUCTION Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive outpatient treatment used for patients with intractable angina refractory to aggressive surgical and medical treatment. Recent results have demonstrated a positive impact of EECP on patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD)-associated erectile dysfunction (ED). AIM To assess the effect of IHD duration and number of EECP ...

Reduced blood flow is the principle pathophysiologic event in acute ischemic stroke. Hence, flow augmentation is the most important goal in stroke management. Improvement of cerebral blood flow can be accomplished by proximal arterial recanalization or by other systemic approaches. Diastolic counterpulsation is a non-invasive method to improve the perfusion of heart, kidneys and brain. This rev...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We aimed to investigate the feasibility and therapeutic effect of external counterpulsation (ECP) in ischemic stroke. METHODS The trial was a randomized, crossover, assessment-blinded, proof-of-concept trial. ECP treatment consisted of 35 daily 1-hour sessions. Patients were randomized to either early (ECP weeks 1 to 7 and no ECP weeks 8 to 14) or late group (no ECP wee...

BACKGROUND Despite the rapid progress in stroke prevention, effective acute stroke treatment except for thrombolysis is still lacking. Hypoperfusion is related to unfavorable functional outcome, further strokes and long-term mortality. Therefore, the need for a safe and effective way of increasing the cerebral blood flow seems obvious. Currently, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest t...