[The enhanced external counterpulsation as a method of non-invasive auxiliary blood circulation used for the combined rehabilitative treatment of the patients surviving after ischemic stroke (a review)].

The present review of the foreign and domestic literature is concerned with the application of the method of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) therapy for the treatment of the patients presenting with various diseases. It is shown that many recent publications report extensive investigations of the clinical and neurophysiological aspects of the application of this method for the combined regenerative treatment of the patients surviving after ischemic stroke (IS). The possibility of the influence of EECP therapy on the system of regulation of the cerebral blood flow, the formation of collateral circulation in the ischemic tissue, and the cellular-humoral mechanisms are considered. It is concluded that the introduction of enhanced external counterpulsation therapy into the program of the combined rehabilitative treatment on an individual basis for the patients surviving after ischemic stroke is pathogenetically substantiated as promoting regression of clinical, neurological, and neuropsychological disorders.