Clinical efficacy of enhanced external counter pulsation plus sacubitril/valsartan in the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure and the effect on ankle-arm index and cardiac function

X.-L. Huang, X.-J. Wang, B.-T. Chen, Y.-N. Chen

Department of Geriatrics, Xi’an Ninth Hospital, Xi’an, China. yuejing20282@126.com

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• Cardiovascular Diseases
• Geriatrics

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of enhanced external counter pulsation (EECP) plus sacubitril/valsartan in the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and the effect on ankle-arm index and cardiac function.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, 106 patients with chronic heart failure treated in our hospital from September 2020 to April 2022 were recruited and randomly assigned to receive either sacubitril/valsartan (observation group) or EECP plus sacubitril/valsartan (combination group) alternately at the point of admission, with 53 patients in each group. Outcome measures included clinical efficacy, ankle brachial index (ABI), cardiac function indices [N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide precursor (NT-proBNP), 6 min walking distance (6MWD), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)], and adverse events.

RESULTS: EECP plus sacubitril/valsartan resulted in significantly higher treatment efficiency and ABI levels vs. sacubitril/valsartan (p<0.05). Patients receiving combined therapy showed significantly lower NT-proBNP levels than those given monotherapy (p<0.05). EECP plus sacubitril/valsartan resulted in longer 6MWD and higher LVEF than sacubitril/valsartan alone (p<0.05). No significant differences were observed in the adverse events between the two groups (p>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: EECP plus sacubitril/valsartan substantially improves the ABI levels, cardiac functions, and exercise tolerance of patients with chronic heart failure, with a high safety profile. EECP improves blood supply to myocardial ischemic tissues by increasing ventricular diastolic blood return and blood perfusion to ischemic myocardium, raises aortic diastolic pressure, restores pumping function, improves LVEF, and reduces NT-proBNP secretion.

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