EECP
Enhanced External Counterpulsation Therapy- EECP
EECP® is changing the way people live with heart disease every day. How it works For people with angina or heart failure, even simple activities - such as going to the mailbox or walking the dog - can be challenging. If you are one of these people, take heart. There is a non-invasive treatment called enhanced external counterpulsation therapy (EECP® Therapy) that clinical studies have shown to be safe and beneficial for the treatment of angina and heart failure. Approximately 80% of patients who complete the 35-hour course of EECP® Therapy experience significant symptom relief that may last up to three years. EECP® improves cardiac output and blood circulation, encourages formation of collateral vessels, decreases levels of circulating inflammatory markers and arterial stiffness, while also inhibiting smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration.
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Suitable for:
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General wellbeing
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Post stenting/bypass patients
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Individuals with known heart blockages
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Individuals with known chest pain (stable angina)
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Individuals with sedentary lifestyle (not exercising)
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Individuals with non communicable diseases (NCD)
How it works
EECP® THERAPY is usually prescribed for an hour each day, for a total of 35 hours. During the therapy, you lie on a comfortable treatment bed with large blood pressure-like cuffs wrapped around your arms, buttocks, thighs and calves. These cuffs inflate and deflate at specific times between your heartbeats. A continuous electro-cardiogram (ECG) is used to signal the cuffs to inflate while the heart is at rest (diastole), when it normally gets its supply of blood and oxygen. The cuffs will deflate at the end of that rest period, just before the next heartbeat (systole). A pulse oximeter applied to your finger monitors the oxygen level in your blood and the pressure waves created by the cuff’s inflations and deflations.
Benefits
Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP®) therapy has the potential to have systemic effects beneficial for the entire body
The primary reasons for therapy are: 1) ECP helps the heart function. 2) ECP helps arterial function. 3) ECP induces angiogenesis, the growth of new arteries, improves blood flow and builds a cardiac bypass in the heart .
Contraindications & Precautions
Precautions:
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Patients with blood pressure higher than 180/110 mmHg should be controlled prior to treatment with EECP®.
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Patients with a heart rate more than 120 bpm should be controlled prior to treatment with EECP®.
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Patients at high risk of complications from increased venous return should be carefully chosen and monitored during treatment with EECP®. Decreasing cardiac afterload by optimizing diastolic augmentation may help minimize increased cardiac filling pressures due to venous return.
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Patients with clinically significant valvular disease should be carefully chosen and monitored during treatment with EECP®.
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Certain valve conditions, such as significant aortic insufficiency, or severe mitral or aortic stenosis, may prevent the patient from obtaining benefit from diastolic augmentation and reduced cardiac afterload in the presence of increased venous return.
Absolute Contraindication:
Arrhythmias that interfere with machine triggering Bleeding diathesis (tendency to bleed or bruise easily) Active thrombophlebitis Severe lower extremity
vaso-occlusive disease Presence of a documented aortic aneurysm Pregnancy
Special Clinical Issues
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Elderly patients (>80 years old) can be effectively treated with EECP®.
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Diabetes: CAD patients with diabetes can safely and effectively be treated with comparable results to non-diabetic CAD patients.
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Obesity: EECP® is equally safe and effective in patients with a diverse range of body mass index (BMI), including obese patients (BMI > 30) and morbidly obese (BMI > 40).
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Severe peripheral vascular disease: listed as precaution due to inadequate diastolic augmentation may have benefits from EECP® similar to those without PVD.
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Data shows a minimum of one class reduction in angina class and an improvement in quality of life in 76% of patients.