Vasomedical's EECP Therapy Shown to Produce Improvement in Functional Status Similar to That Seen in Patients One Year After Bypass Surgery.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

WESTBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2002

Analysis of 485 Patients Enrolled in the International EECP Patient

Registry Links Improvement in Functional Capacity

to Reduction in Angina

Vasomedical, Inc. (Nasdaq SmallCap: VASO), announced today that a study presented last week at the European Society of Cardiology in Berlin showed that its EECP(R) enhanced external counterpulsation therapy significantly improved the functional status of patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease.

Researchers noted that the improvement was similar to that seen in patients who have undergone a coronary artery bypass graft procedure one year after their surgery.

The study presented by Sheryl F. Kelsey, PhD, Director of the International EECP Patient Registry (IEPR) at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Epidemiology Data Center, reported that in a group of 485 patients enrolled in the IEPR, treatment with Vasomedical's EECP system not only reduced angina, a symptom of coronary artery disease, but also led to an increase in functional capacity similar to that seen one year after bypass surgery. Following a course of EECP treatment, 72% of patients reported a one or more class reduction in angina, and almost half of the patients were able to discontinue their use of nitroglycerine. Functional status, as measured by the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI), a broadly accepted tool for measuring changes in a patient's ability to perform routine daily activities, increased from 12.8 to 18.0 or approximately 42%. DASI has been correlated with both objective and subjective measures of heart disease and the pretreatment scores are reflective of a severely impaired group of patients.

A second study presented by Angela S. Brown, MD of the Department of Cardiology at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, entitled "Diastolic Augmentation is an Independent Predictor of Improved Outcome in 3,536 Patients Following Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP)," concluded that despite wide variations in baseline characteristics between patients in a U.S. group and those in a European cohort, diastolic augmentation remained an independent predictor of clinical outcomes with EECP.

Diastolic augmentation is the elevation of blood pressure during diastole, the time when the heart is resting between beats and filling with blood. This rise produces an increase in perfusion pressure to the coronary arteries and an increase in coronary blood flow, providing more oxygen to the heart. Researchers found that diastolic augmentation was an independent predictor of outcomes in patients with modest to severe angina. A study published earlier this month in Circulation, the official publication of the American Heart Association, documented this increase in diastolic augmentation, blood flow and other hemodynamic parameters associated with EECP. Other studies have suggested that these changes in blood flow and pressure during EECP treatment, including increased shear stress on the cells that line the body's blood vessels, produce biochemical changes, which spawn the development of collateral circulation in the heart.

"The increase in functional capacity noted in the study by Dr. Kelsey last week is impressive and supports the improvement in health-related quality of life parameters noted in the follow-on study to MUST-EECP that was published earlier this year. Similar types of improvement with EECP have been seen in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), a significant unmet clinical need and something for which EECP is now indicated," said D. Michael Deignan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vasomedical. CHF affects approximately 22 million people worldwide and is the single biggest cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for patients 65 years of age or older.

About EECP - Enhanced External Counterpulsation

External counterpulsation has been studied for more than 40 years as a noninvasive method for the treatment of ischemic heart disease. Vasomedical's advanced, state-of-the-art EECP enhanced external counterpulsation system is composed of an air compressor, a computer console, a set of cuffs and a treatment table. To receive treatment, patients lie down on the table and have their calves and lower and upper thighs wrapped in the cuffs. The system, which is synchronized to the individual patient's cardiac cycle, inflates the cuffs with air to create external pressure when the heart is resting (diastole) and deflates the cuffs just before the heart beats (systole). The system's action, which pulses counter to the heart's beating, increases blood flow to the heart muscle, decreases the heart's workload, and creates a greater oxygen supply for the heart muscle while lowering the heart's need for oxygen.

Treatment is typically given in 35 one-hour-sessions over seven weeks, and the benefits have been shown to persist for years. Researchers hypothesize that EECP may work by promoting the release of beneficial growth factors, improving the neurohormonal milieu within blood vessels, and by encouraging the proliferation of collateral blood vessels. Vasomedical's EECP systems are the only counterpulsation devices shown in clinical studies published in major peer-reviewed journals to provide improvements in exercise capacity, peak oxygen consumption and quality of life.

EECP is currently reimbursed by Medicare and numerous private payers for the treatment of refractory angina. The reimbursement rate for a full course of 35 one-hour treatments ranges from $5,500 to $7,000. The Company estimates that one-third of the patients treated with EECP for refractory angina also have congestive heart failure.

About Vasomedical

Vasomedical, Inc. is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing, marketing and supporting EECP external counterpulsation systems based on the Company's proprietary technology. EECP is a noninvasive, outpatient therapy for the treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system, currently indicated for use in cases of angina, cardiogenic shock, acute myocardial infarction and most recently, congestive heart failure. The therapy serves to increase circulation in areas of the heart with less than adequate blood supply and may restore systemic vascular function. The Company is actively engaged in research to determine potential benefits of EECP therapy in the management of other major vascular disease states and diabetes. The Company provides hospitals, clinics and private practices with EECP equipment, treatment guidance and a staff training and maintenance program designed to provide optimal patient outcomes. EECP is a registered trademark for Vasomedical's enhanced external counterpulsation system. 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 "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" and "intend" 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 impact of competitive products and pricing; capacity and supply constraints or difficulties; product development, commercialization or technological difficulties; the regulatory and trade environment; and the risk factors reported from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any forward-looking statements as a result of future events or developments.

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    CONTACT: Vasomedical, Inc., Westbury
             D. Michael Deignan, 516/997-4600, Ext. 155
             Lucia Persichilli, 516/997-4600, Ext. 182
                       or
             INVESTOR RELATIONS:
             In-Site Communications, Inc., New York
             Amy Raskopf, 212/759-5665
             [e-mail]
                       or
             MEDIA RELATIONS:
             Rowland Communications Worldwide, New York
             Philip Wirth, 212/527-8894
             [e-mail]

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MEDICAL DEVICES PRODUCT
    SOURCE: Vasomedical, Inc.