AUTHOR=Liu Hongyun , Liang Hui , Yu Xiaohua , Han Yi , Wang Guojing , Yan Muyang , Wang Weidong , Li Shijun 

TITLE=A study on the immediate effects of enhanced external counterpulsation on physiological coupling

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 17 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2023.1197598

DOI=10.3389/fnins.2023.1197598

ISSN=1662-453X

ABSTRACT=Introduction: To investigate the immediate effects of the hemodynamic effects of EECP on the coupling between integrated physiological systems such as cardiopulmonary and cardiovascular systems. Methods: From July 8, 2021 to September 10, 2021, healthy subjects from Beijing Sport University and Chinese PLA Medical School were recruited through advertisements. Forty-one healthy subjects were enrolled in EECP and control groups in this study. The EECP group received two rounds of EECP intervention at a pressure of 0.020 Mpa for a duration of 30 minutes, while the control group received no EECP stimulation. Synchronous continuous electrocardiograph, respiratory, and photoplethysmography signals were collected before, during, and after the EECP intervention. Phase synchronization indexes (PSIs) were determined to quantify the strength of coupling between respiration, heartbeat, and blood pressure at different stages (PSIRES-IBI, PSIRES-PTT, and PSIIBI-PTT) as well as the total strength of physiological coupling (PSItotal). The research project was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (No. ChiCTR2000033645). Results: After the EECP intervention, the PSIRES-PTT (0.34 ± 0.14 vs. 0.49 ± 0.17, P=.002), PSIIBI-PTT (0.41 ± 0.14 vs. 0.52 ± 0.16, P=.006) and PSItotal (1.21 ± 0.35 vs. 1.57 ± 0.49, P=.005) values in the EECP group were significantly lower than those obtained before intervention, while the physiological coupling indexes in the control group did not change significantly (P>.05). Conclusions: This study provides a new method for exploring the mechanism of EECP action and will help to further optimize the EECP technique.