SynthesisQJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians2026
Impact of enhanced external counterpulsation treatment on cerebral blood flow and functional outcomes in ischemic stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Construction of a predictive model for the efficacy of enhanced external counterpulsation therapy in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction based on automated machine learning and echocardiography.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive circulatory support device that has been shown to improve perfusion in cardiovascular diseases; however, its effectiveness in ischemic stroke is yet to be explored. This systematic review and meta-analysis were proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of EECP on cerebral blood flow (CBF) and other functional outcomes in ischemic stroke patients. PubMed, CNKI, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, Wangfang, Chinese Medicine and Sinomed databases were searched up to June 2025. Studies evaluating the effect of EECP on CBF, daily living activities, disability degree and neurological impairment. Data were pooled using RStudio (version 4.5.1) with both a common-effect model and a Hartung-Knapp (HK) random-effects model, applying the generic inverse variance method. Fifteen studies comprising 506 participants were included. While the common-effect model suggested a statistically significant improvement in CBF, this effect was no longer significant after applying the more conservative HK adjustment (MD = 0.15; 95% CI: -0.13 to 0.44; P = 0.1485). This indicates that current evidence supports a possible, but not definitive, effect of EECP on CBF. EECP showed significant improvement in daily living activities (MD = 23.53; 95% CI: 14.65-32.40; P = 0.0002), disability degree (MD = -1.88; 95% CI: -2.64 to -1.11; P = 0.0009) and neurological function (MD = -5.42; 95% CI: -8.90 to -1.94; P = 0.0060). High heterogeneity was observed across outcomes. Overall, EECP shows promising potential as an adjunct rehabilitation therapy for ischemic stroke, particularly in improving functional outcomes. However, the non-significant CBF findings under the HK model and the substantial heterogeneity highlight the need for rigorously designed, high-quality studies to better define EECP's clinical efficacy and optimal treatment protocols.
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Registered trials
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