Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jan 12;9(1):33-7.

Effect of Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) on Exercise Time Duration and Functional Capacity in Patients with Refractory Angina Pectoris

Ali Bozorgi  1 , Entezar Mehrabi Nasab  1 , Akram Sardari  1 , Mostafa Nejatian  1 , Shaghayegh Nasirpour  1 , Sakineh Sadeghi  1
Affiliations

Effect of Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) on Exercise Time Duration and Functional Capacity in Patients with Refractory Angina Pectoris

Ali Bozorgi et al. J Tehran Heart Cent. .

Abstract

Background: Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive technique used for patients with refractory angina pectoris. There are controversial data on the effectiveness of EECP in improving patients with refractory stable angina. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of EECP for the treatment of patients with refractory angina pectoris.

Methods: Twenty consecutive patients with refractory angina pectoris were treated with EECP, and their symptoms, echocardiographic measures, treadmill exercise test parameters, and Canadian Cardiovascular Society Class were evaluated before and immediately after EECP. The patients were followed up for 6months post treatment.

Results: There were significant differences regarding total exercise time before and after treatment (p value < 0.001). The patients showed a significant reduction in angina classes III and IV immediately after EECP (p value < 0.001); for most of the patients, these beneficial effects were sustained for 6 months (p value = 0.010). There was no significant improvement in the echocardiographic parameters.

Conclusion: EECP decreased symptoms and increased total exercise time in our study population. These beneficial effects were sustained for 6 months.

Keywords: Angina pectoris • Counterpulsation • Echocardiography • Exercise test.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of angina Canadian Cardiovascular Society class pre enhanced external counterpulsation and post enhanced external counterpulsation and follow-up after 6 months
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Mannheimer C, Camici P, Chester MR, Collins A, Dejongste M, Elisson T, Follath F, Hellemans I, Herlitz J, Lascher T, Pasic M, Thelle D. The problem of chronic refractory angina; report from the ESC Joint study Group on the Treatment of Refractory Angina. Eur Heart J . 2002;23:355–370. - PubMed
    1. Yang EH, Barsness GW, Gersh BJ, cha Ndrasekaran K, Lermon A. Current and future treatment strategies for refractory angina. Maya ClinProc. 2004;79:1284–1292. - PubMed
    1. Stys T, Lawson WE, Hui JC, Lang G, Liuzzo J, Cohn PF. Acute hemodynamic effects and angina improvement with enhanced external counterpulsation. Angiology. 2001;52:653–658. - PubMed
    1. Michaels AD, Accad M, Ports TA, Grossman W. Left ventricular systolic unloading and augmentation of intracoronary pressure and Doppler flow during enhanced external counterpulsation. Circulation. 2002;106:1237–1242. - PubMed
    1. Niebauer J, Cooke JP. Cardiovascular effects of exercise: role of endothelial shear stress. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1996;28:1652–1660. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources