Introduction:
Improving myocardial blood supply in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) may improve angina.
The gekoTM device is a small transcutaneous nerve stimulator that is applied non-invasively to the skin over the common peroneal nerve and has been demonstrated to stimulate peripheral blood flow. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the geko device on coronary blood flow.
Methods:
We enrolled 10 patients with symptomatic obstructive CAD undergoing PCI. A Doppler guidewire was used to assess coronary average peak velocity and coronary flow reserve in the obstructed coronary artery and in a control vessel without obstructive disease at baseline and after 5 minutes of peripheral muscle stimulation.
Results:
10 male patients, age 59.4±10.8 were included. The culprit vessel was LAD/diagonal in 6, LCx in 3 and RCA in 1. Compared to baseline, there was a significant increase in APV in the control vessel with muscle stimulation (20.3±7.7 to 23.5±10 cm/s; p=0.03) but not significant increase in the obstructed vessel (21.9±12 to 23.9±12.9 cm/s; p=0.23). CFR in the control vessel was 2.2±0.6 at baseline and 2.4±0.6 with muscle stimulation (p=0.4). CFR in the culprit vessel was 2.2±0.9 at baseline and 1.9±0.3 (p=0.4) with stimulation.
Conclusions:
Peripheral muscle stimulation performed non-invasively by the geko device may improve coronary blood flow. This effect seems more prominent in non-obstructed vessels.
