Darren Casey, PhD Candidate, will present "Enhanced external counterpulsation: Mechanism behind the benefits" on Thursday, October 19th, 2006, at 4:00pm in Room 1 FLG.

The seminar will address the history of EECP, the acute and chronic changes following EECP, various hypotheses explaining the benefits of EECP, and preliminary data from our ongoing research.

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a non-invasive modality for treatment of symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients who are not candidates for standard revascularization procedures, such as angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). EECP is a counterpulsation treatment of angina that uses the sequential inflation of three sets of pneumatic cuffs wrapped around the lower extremities. EECP has been shown to be effective in reducing anginal symptoms and nitroglycerin use, increasing exercise tolerance, and enhancing quality of life. However, the mechanisms by which this technique improves symptoms are not completely understood. The popular hypothesis is that EECP improves myocardial perfusion. However, this is only a theory and has not been proven in humans. Alternatively, we are currently investigating the effects of EECP on peripheral vascular function. We hypothesize that peripheral vascular adaptations are responsible for reducing cardiac oxygen demand and the anginal symptoms.