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New Study Demonstrates the Effectiveness of EECP® Therapy in Ischemic Heart Failure |
Improvement Seen In Clinical and Biochemical Parameters
March 7, 2012 (Westbury, New York) - VasoMedical, Inc. (“VasoMedical”) (OTC: VASO.PK), a global leader in the manufacture and sale of devices for the non-invasive treatment and management of cardiovascular diseases, as well as a leader in the sale of diagnostic imaging products today announced the online publication of an original investigation, currently at press in the May 2012 issue of the Turkish cardiology journal Anadolu Kardiyol Derg. The article entitled Clinical Effects of Enhanced External Counterpulsation Treatment in Patients with Ischemic Heart Failure authored by Guliz Kozdag, Gokhan Ertas, Fatih Aygun, Ender Emre, Ahu Kirbas, Dilek Ural and Ozlem Soran from the Department of Cardiology, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey; the Clinic of Cardiology, Gumushane State Hospital, Gumushane, Turkey and Ozlem Soran, the University of Pittsburgh, Cardiovascular Institute, Pittsburgh, PA – USA demonstrated a significant improvement in post-intervention New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, left ventricular ejection fraction, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels, uric acid levels, free-T3/free-T4 ratio and mitral annular E velocity, when compared with baseline in those patients referred for EECP® therapy. Those patients who did not want to be referred to EECP® Therapy served as the control group in this prospective cohort study.
Though all patients had angina pectoris and heart failure symptoms (fatigue and shortness of breath) the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) class and NYHA class was higher in the EECP® treatment group compared to the control group at baseline. In addition, the diastolic blood pressure was also higher in the EECP® group than in the control group. After the treatment period, the NYHA functional class (2.6±0.75 vs 1.72±0.68 (p<0.001) was significantly improved in the EECP® group, as was the CCS class from 2.47±0.88 to 1.57±0.74 (p<0.001). BNP decreased from 782±959 pg/ml to 463±683 pg/ml, Uric acid decreased from 6.70±2.74 mg/dL to 5.71±2.32 mg/dL, and Free-T3/Free-T4 improved from 2.05±0.55 to 2.24±0.45 in the EECP® treatment group. A comparison of echocardiographic parameters demonstrated LVEF% improved from 32.26±16.29 to 35.65±15.13 (p<0.001), the Mitral peak E wave improved from 85±19 cm/s before treatment to 73±26 cm/s after treatment (p<0.049), and the Deceleration time/Mitral E velocity improved from 2.38±1.12 msec/[cm/s] to 2.87±1.6 msec/[cm/s] (p<0.049), in the EECP® group. No changes in echocardiographic parameters were seen in the control group.
The positive results of this study, with no serious adverse effects during the study, led the authors to their conclusion that EECP® Therapy might reverse some characteristics of poor prognosis of chronic heart failure with coronary artery disease.
The study may be viewed in its entirety online.