Vasomedical's EECP® Therapy Receives Class IIb Rating in the New ACCF/AHA 2012 Clinical Guideline for SIHD

WESTBURY, N.Y., Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 19, The American College of Cardiology Foundation and American Heart Association (ACCF/AHA) Task Force on Practice Guidelines issued its new Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Patients With Stable Ischemic Heart Disease.  Enhanced external counterpulsation, or EECP^® Therapy, a proprietary non-invasive cardiology treatment patented by Vasomedical, Inc., ("Vasomedical" or the "Company") (OTCQB: VASO), retained the same IIb Class of Recommendation (COR) rating it received in the ACC/AHA 2002 Guideline Update for the Management of Patients with Chronic Stable Angina.  EECP Therapy was also given a B rating for Level of Evidence (LOE).

According to the Guideline, a class IIb rating maintains that procedures and treatments may be considered for patients. Additional studies with broad objectives are needed and further registry data would be helpful. This classification finds that the benefits of treatments are greater than or equal to the risk of treatment. 

"We believe that the 2012 Guideline clearly characterizes EECP Therapy as the gold standard of ECP treatments, since other forms of ECP treatments were not even considered for a ranking.  We are pleased that this classification reinforces EECP Therapy's position as the preeminent, non-invasive treatment for ischemic heart disease," said Dr. Jun Ma, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vasomedical, Inc. 

"Throughout the past decade, EECP Therapy has been offered to hundreds of thousands of patients in hundreds of treatment centers and hospitals in the Unites States. During this time, we have gathered a wealth of data from many different studies, including randomized controlled trials published in peer-reviewed journals, and have received countless testimonials for an improvement to patients' quality of life," continued Dr. Ma. "We believe this treatment option should be made available to a broader patient base and are continuing our communications with the ACCF and AHA task force to explore options to raise the Class of Recommendation for EECP based on more current data than referenced in the 2012 Guideline. Our responsibility is not only to support this technology, but also to champion the patient who is not receiving this therapy and its benefits. Furthermore, we have a social obligation to support healthcare cost reduction through the expanded role of EECP Therapy, which has been demonstrated in the clinical literature to reduce re-hospitalizations and emergency room visits."

The new Guideline puts more emphasis on healthy lifestyle and medication than on invasive procedures such as bypass surgery and the percutaneous coronary intervention.  Additionally, of the three available alternative treatments for ischemic heart disease, including spinal cord stimulation and transmyocardial revascularization (TMR), EECP Therapy was the only treatment that attained the same Class of Recommendation and Level of Evidence in the new Guideline as in the 2002 Guideline. The other two alternative treatments were given lower COR and/or LOE ratings than in the 2002 Guideline.  EECP is now listed as the first alternative treatment for ischemic heart disease and continues to hold an equal or greater level of acceptance in this important category.

About Vasomedical
Vasomedical, Inc. is a diversified medical technology company specializing in the manufacture and sale of medical devices and in the domestic sale of diagnostic imaging products.  The Company's main proprietary products are EECP^® Therapy systems, the gold standard of ECP treatment. The Company operates through three wholly owned subsidiaries: VasoSolutions, Vasomedical Global and VasoHealthcare. VasoSolutions manages and coordinates the design, manufacture and sales of EECP® Therapy systems, and other medical equipment operations; Vasomedical Global operates the Company's China-based subsidiaries; and VasoHealthcare is the operating subsidiary for the exclusive sales representation of GE Healthcare diagnostic imaging products in certain market segments. Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.vasomedical.com.

Except for historical information contained in this release, the matters discussed are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. When used in this release, words such as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "plans", "potential" and "intends" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of the Company's management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company's management. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: the effect of business and economic conditions; the effect of the dramatic changes taking place in the healthcare environment; the impact of competitive procedures and products and their pricing; medical insurance reimbursement policies; unexpected manufacturing or supplier problems; unforeseen difficulties and delays in the conduct of clinical trials and other product development programs; the actions of regulatory authorities and third-party payers in the United States and overseas; uncertainties about the acceptance of a novel therapeutic modality by the medical community; continuation of the GEHC agreement; and the risk factors reported from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of future events or developments.

Investor Contacts:

Todd Fromer / Garth Russell
KCSA Strategic Communications
212-896-1215 / 212-896-1250
[email protected] / [email protected]  

Media Contact:

Lewis Goldberg / Samantha Wolf
KCSA Strategic Communications
212-896-1216 / 212-896-1220
[email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Vasomedical, Inc.