Table 1. Characteristics of Included Studies.

Study	Country	Design	Selection criteria	Sample size (n)	Protocol and duration of EECP therapy	Technique of measuring myocardial perfusion	Data collection time points (pre- and post-EECP)
Arora 2007	USA	Prospective, randomized, blinded	MUST-EECP inclusion and exclusion criteria*	11	One-hour sessions (once or twice daily, five days per week) for a total of 35 hours over four-seven weeks	Dynamic 13N positron emission tomography (PET)	Less than four weeks pre-EECP; less than two weeks post-EECP
Lawson 1992	USA	Prospective, randomized, blinded	Included chronic, stable angina patients with exertional ischemia; excluded clinical CHF, aortic insufficiency, MI in the past three months, significant ventricular ectopic activity or atrial fibrillation, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, severe occlusive peripheral vascular disease, recurrent deep vein thrombophlebitis, blood pressure >180/110 mm Hg, or bleeding diathesis	18	One-hour daily sessions for a total of 36 hours	Thallium-201 scan	Immediately before EECP; within one week post-EECP
Masuda 2001	Japan	Prospective, observational, blinded	Included CAD patients (aged 21–81) with CCSC I-III; MUST-EECP exclusion criteria*	11	One-hour sessions (once or twice daily) for a total of 35 hours over a period of 18–35 days	Dynamic 13N positron emission tomography (PET)	Immediately before and after EECP
Michaels 2002	USA	Prospective, randomized, blinded	Included CAD outpatients referred for catheterization; excluded severe aortic insufficiency, decompensated CHF, significant arrhythmia, systolic blood pressure >180 mm Hg, symptomatic PVD, abnormal Doppler Allen’s test of right upper extremity, or unsuitable lower extremity/coronary anatomy	10	EECP protocol not reported	0.014” Doppler velocity guidewire positioned in the mid-to-distal portion of an unobstructed coronary artery under fluoroscopic guidance	Immediately before and during EECP
Michaels 2005	USA	Prospective, randomized, blinded	Included CAD patients with CCSC II-IV or angina averaging at least twice weekly; MUST-EECP exclusion criteria*	34	One-hour sessions (once daily, five days per week) for a total of 35 hours over a seven-week period	Quantitative gated technetium Tc 99m sestamibi single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) exercise perfusion imaging	Immediately before EECP; one month post-EECP
Tartaglia 2003	USA	Prospective, randomized, blinded	Included CAD patients with CCSC class II or higher; excluded if unable to treadmill, MI within past six weeks, unstable angina, uncontrolled hypertension, severe valvular heart disease, or malignant ventricular arrhythmia	25	One-hour sessions (once or twice daily) for a total of 35 hours	Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)	Immediately before and after EECP

*Multicenter study of EECP (MUST-EECP) inclusion criteria: 23–82 years of age; Canadian Cardiovascular Society Class (CCSC) I, II, or III; coronary artery disease (CAD) evidenced by one of three measures; angiographic-proven disease of one major coronary artery, enzymatic and/or electrocardiographic (ECG) evidence of myocardial ischemia (MI), or positive nuclear exercise stress test for MI or ischemia.

MUST-EECP exclusion criteria: pregnant or of child-bearing potential and not using a contraceptive method; presenting with unstable angina, arrhythmias, or marked ECG abnormalities; MI or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in the past three months; cardiac catheterization in the past two weeks; permanent pacemaker or implantable defibrillator; currently enrolled in a cardiac rehabilitation program; or any of the following: overt cardiac heart failure (CHF, left ventricular ejection fraction less than 30%); significant valvular disease; severe symptomatic peripheral vascular disease, history of varicosities, deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism, phlebitis, and/or stasis ulcer; uncontrolled hypertension (greater than 180/110 mm Hg); bleeding diathesis; warfarin use with international normalized ratio of greater than 2.0; unable to treadmill test; or non-bypassed left main disease of greater than 50%.