Treatment strategy of different enhanced external counterpulsation frequencies for coronary heart disease and cerebral ischemic stroke: A hemodynamic numerical simulation study

Currently, enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) devices mainly produce one counterpulsation per cardiac cycle. However, the effect of other frequencies of EECP on the hemodynamics of coronary and cerebral arteries is still unclear. It should be investigated whether one counterpulsation per cardiac cycle leads to the optimal therapeutic effect in patients with different clinical indications. Therefore, we measured the effects of different frequencies of EECP on the hemodynamics of coronary and cerebral arteries to determine the optimal counterpulsation frequency for the treatment of coronary heart disease and cerebral ischemic stroke. We established 0D/3D geometric multi-scale hemodynamics model of coronary and cerebral arteries in two healthy individuals, and performed clinical trials of EECP to verify the accuracy of the multi-scale hemodynamics model. The pressure amplitude (35 kPa) and pressurization duration (0.6 s) were fixed. The global and local hemodynamics of coronary and cerebral arteries were studied by changing counterpulsation frequency. Three frequency modes, including one counterpulsation in one, two and three cardiac cycles, were applied. Global hemodynamic indicators included diastolic / systolic blood pressure (D/S), mean arterial pressure (MAP), coronary artery flow (CAF), and cerebral blood flow (CBF), whereas local hemodynamic effects included area-time-averaged wall shear stress (ATAWSS) and oscillatory shear index (OSI). The optimal counterpulsation frequency was verified by analyzing the hemodynamic effects of different frequency modes of counterpulsation cycles and full cycles. In the full cycle, CAF, CBF and ATAWSS of coronary and cerebral arteries were the highest when one counterpulsation per cardiac cycle was applied. However, in the counterpulsation cycle, the global and local hemodynamic indicators of coronary and cerebral artery reached the highest when one counterpulsation in one cardiac cycle or two cardiac cycles was applied. For clinical application, the results of global hemodynamic indicators in the full cycle have more clinical practical significance. Combined with the comprehensive analysis of local hemodynamic indicators, it can be concluded that for coronary heart disease and cerebral ischemic stroke, applying one counterpulsation per cardiac cycle may provide the optimal benefit.