Noninvasive augmentation of microvessel number in patients with peripheral vascular disease.

Objective: Therapeutic angiogenesis has great potential for the treatment of ischemic diseases. One possible route for noninvasive induction of microvessels has recently been suggested by the finding that subcontractile electrical stimulation induces increased vascularization in animals. The present study tests the ability of such stimulation to augment microvessel number in patients with peripheral vascular disease.