Enhanced External Counterpulsation as a New Treatment Modality for Patients with Erectile Dysfunction

Abstract

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive treatment modality which can increase arterial blood flow in peripheral and coronary arterial disease. Several studies have demonstrated an increase in the flow of the internal iliacal artery and in carotid and renal perfusion during EECP treatment. We investigated the effect of EECP in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). Thirteen patients were treated with EECP for 20 days, 1 h per day. Patients reported a significant improvement of penile rigidity after completion of the EECP treatment and a significant improvement of penile peak systolic flow was measured by Doppler sonography. No adverse effects were observed. In conclusion, EECP seems to be an effective treatment modality in patients with ED.

The Role of Enhanced External Counter Pulsation Therapy in Clinical Practice

“…EECP has been tried in treatment of restless leg syndrome, 30 erectile dysfunction, 31 hepatorenal syndrome, 32 Syndrome X, 33 and retinal artery occlusion, 34 although it is not FDAapproved for management of these conditions. EECP has been shown to improve transdermal oxygen concentration and concentration of moving red blood cells and significantly reduced transdermal carbon dioxide pressure and velocity of blood cells in healthy subjects probably due to peripheral vasodilatation.…”

Enhanced External Counterpulsation Treatment Improves Arterial Wall Properties and Wave Reflection Characteristics in Patients With Refractory Angina

“…The clinical benefits of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) therapy in chronic stable refractory angina patients who fail to respond to conventional treatment, such as percutaneous coronary intervention or bypass surgery combined with aggressive antiangina medication, include reductions in myocardial ischemia, angina episodes, and nitrate use (1) and improvement in exercise tolerance (1)(2)(3), erectile function (4), and quality of life (5,6). Furthermore, the most recent report from the International EECP Patient Registry…”

Current use of enhanced external counterpulsation and patient selection

“…12 The IEPR is actually doing a substudy to look at the benefit of EECP in patients with erectile dysfunction, as well as to look at proteinuria in diabetics, which may reflect diffuse endovascular dysfunction diffusely. So those are topics of interest that are being pursued.…”