Patients with refractory angina often suffer from erectile dysfunction. Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) decreases symptoms of angina, and increases nitric oxide release. This study evaluated the effect of EECP on sexual function in men with severe angina. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) was used to assess erectile function of severe angina patients enroled in the I...

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is used to noninvasively treat refractory angina patients, including those with a history of heart failure. The International EECP Patient Registry was used to examine the benefit and safety of EECP treatment, including a 6-month follow-up, in 1,957 patients, 548 with a history of heart failure. The heart failure cohort was older, with more females, a g...

BACKGROUND Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) improves ischemia in patients with refractory angina pectoris, but the mechanism remains unclear. To explore the mechanisms of EECP action, we detected progenitor cells presenting any of the following markers CD34(+), CD29(+), and CD106(+). METHODS Growth cytokines-mediated progenitor cell mobilization and associated angiogenesis potential ...

In a prospective study, enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) was performed for 1 hour each day for 35 days in 47 patients, mean age 61 +/- 8 years, with prior coronary revascularization who had chronic refractory angina pectoris despite antianginal drugs and who were not candidates for further coronary revascularization. Compared with baseline values, EECP significantly improved anginal sy...

We studied the effect of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) in 23 consecutive patients with stable angina pectoris who had a positive dobutamine stress echocardiogram. After EECP, stress-induced wall motion score (WMS) improved by > or =2 grades in 43% of the patients (n = 10); the average improvement was 5.3 +/- 3.8 compared with -0.6 +/- 3.0 in the remaining 13 patients (p = 0.007). Th...

Objective(s): The current study investigated the potential hepatoprotective effects of the ethanolic extracts of Chinese propolis (EECP) on ethanol-induced fatty liver in mice.Materials and Methods: C57BL/6J mice were orally gavaged with 50% ethanol alone or co-administrated with EECP at the dose of 0.2 ml/kg bodyweight for eight weeks. ...

As the incidence of angina and heart failure continue to rise, new therapeutic options will be needed to treat patients who remain symptomatic or who are intolerant to current treatment. Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive modality being investigated in both angina and congestive heart failure patients. It has been proven to provide symptomatic benefit in angina patients,...

OBJECTIVE Shear stress may be the most crucial local factor affecting atherogenesis. The present study investigated the effect of exposure to increased shear stress promoted by enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) on the progression of atherosclerosis and the underlying inflammation-related molecular mechanisms in a porcine model of hypercholesterolemia. METHODS AND RESULTS Hypercholeste...

China produces the greatest amount of propolis but there is still lack of basic studies on its pharmacological mechanisms. Our previous study found that ethanol extract from Chinese propolis (EECP) exerted excellent anti-inflammatory effects in vivo but mechanisms of action were elusive. To further clarify the possible mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of Chinese propolis (pop...

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) has been shown to reduce angina and to improve objective measures of myocardial ischemia in patients with refractory angina. Prospective clinical studies and large treatment registries suggest that a course of EECP is associated with prolongation of the time to exercise-induced ST-segment depression and resolution of myocardial perfusion defects, as wel...