Overview on Enhanced External Counter Pulsation

EECP® Therapy is a safe, non-invasive, outpatient treatment option for patients suffering from ischemic heart diseases such as angina and heart failure. The EECP machine is manufactured in USA & is approved by The United States Food & Drug Administration and is widely used across the world. EECP® was approved by the FDA in 1995 as a treatment for coronary artery disease and angina, cardiogenic shock and for use during a heart attack. In 2002, the FDA approved EECP® as a treatment for congestive heart failure. It has undergone rigorous clinical trials at leading universities and EECP® has been the subject of more than 100 scientific studies published in leading medical journals throughout the world. The treatment is currently recommended by American College of Cardiology / American Heart Association and European Society of Cardiology guideline for cardiac patient’s treatment. EECP® is a safe, non-invasive, outpatient treatment for heart disease that is used to relieve or eliminate angina. Treatments are usually given for an hour each day, five days a week, for a total of 35 hours. Additional hours may safely and effectively be prescribed to this regimen after evaluation of the patient’s response towards the treatment. If it is evaluated that additional hours will result in greater relief of symptoms, then it may be advised to the patient accordingly. In certain circumstances, adjusting the patient’s treatment regimen to two hours per day can make it more comfortable for the patient to complete a course of EECP therapy. During the treatment, you lie on a comfortable treatment table, and large blood pressure cuffs are wrapped around your legs and buttocks. These cuffs inflate and deflate at specific times between your heartbeats. A continuous electro cardiogram (ECG) is used to set the timing so the cuffs inflate while the heart is at rest, when it normally gets its supply of blood and oxygen. The cuffs deflate at the end of that rest period, just before the next heart beat. The special sensor applied to your finger checks the oxygen level in your blood and monitors the pressure waves created by the cuff inflations and deflations.In the process, EECP® develops new pathways around blocked arteries in the heart by expanding networks of tiny blood vessels (“collaterals”) that help increase and normalize blood flow to the heart muscle. For this reason, it is often called the “Natural Bypass”. Unlike bypass surgery, balloon angioplasty, and stenting procedures, EECP® is non-invasive, carries no risk, is comfortable and is administered in outpatient sessions.