WESTBURY, N.Y., Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/
-- Vasomedical, Inc. ("Vasomedical") (OTCBB:
VASO), a diversified medical technology company specializing in the
design, manufacture and sale of medical devices for noninvasive
cardiology including EECP® (Enhanced External
Counterpulsation) Therapy systems, the gold standard of ECP
therapy, announced today that its EECP Therapy has been given a lla
Class of Recommendation in the 2013 European Society of Cardiology
(ESC) Guidelines on the Management of Stable Coronary Artery
Disease (SCAD). The guidelines were released during ESC's
annual meeting which took place from August
31 to September 3, 2013 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The IIa classification signifies that the weight of evidence and
level of opinion are in favor of a treatment and, in this case,
that physicians should consider EECP Therapy as a treatment option
for patients suffering from refractory angina.
Last November, The American College of Cardiology
Foundation and The 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. In this Guideline,
EECP Therapy retained the same IIb Class of Recommendation
rating it had received in the ACC/AHA 2002 Guideline Update for the
Management of Patients with Chronic Stable Angina. The
Company has been in active communication with the ACCF/AHA task
force, as well as its guideline writing committee, requesting a
review of more recent data than was referenced in the 2012
Guideline, for the purpose of upgrading EECP Therapy's level of
recommendation to lla in its future guideline.
"It is a breakthrough that EECP Therapy was included in the ESC
Guidelines for the first time, and at the same time was given a
level IIa recommendation, which means it 'should be
considered' as a treatment option as opposed to 'may be considered'
recommendation for a IIb rating," said Dr. Jun Ma, President
and Chief Executive Officer of Vasomedical, Inc. "We are pleased
that the European Society of Cardiology has recognized the value
and efficacy of this treatment, as has been demonstrated by many
studies. On behalf of all heart patients, we thank the many
physicians in the U.S. and Europe
who have done great research on EECP Therapy and presented data to
ESC for consideration."
"Throughout the past decade, EECP Therapy has been offered to
hundreds of thousands of patients in numerous centers and hospitals
in the Unites States and abroad. 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 regarding an improvement to
patients' quality of life," continued Dr. Ma. "We believe this
treatment option should be made available to a wider patient base.
Our responsibility is not only to support and improve 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 expanding
role of EECP Therapy, which has been demonstrated in clinical
literature to reduce re-hospitalizations and emergency room visits.
We believe this high recommendation by ESC should help promote a
broader acceptance of the EECP Therapy around the world."
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 markets.
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
tfromer@kcsa.com / grussell@kcsa.com
Media Contact:
Samantha
Wolf
KCSA Strategic Communications
212-896-1220
swolf@kcsa.com
SOURCE Vasomedical, Inc.