Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) is a well-proven, mechanical procedure done using computer-controlled medical equipment that effectively treats chronic stable angina, significantly improving a cardiac patient's quality of life. The benefits of one EECP treatment can last up to five years. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports that EECP has significant benefits.

Although it was introduced into the USA more than a decade ago and the equipment has been under development for half a century (the reason it is called "Enhanced"), only in the past couple of years has this computerized, state-of-the-art, safe, highly effective and non-invasive ("External") procedure been accepted into the mainstream by heart specialists. Some argued EECP was only "glorified physical therapy" but for decades, an invasive procedure that does the same thing as EECP, intra-aortic counterpulsation (IACP) which inflates and deflates a balloon-tipped catheter in the aorta in time with the heartbeat, has been widely used globally in intensive care units to effectively stabalize extremely unstable patients.

Benefits of EECP for congestive heart failure & other heart problems:

• signficantly improves symptoms of angina;
• signficantly improves exercise tolerance in persons with coronary artery disease;
• improves both coronary artery and bodily functions;
• affects the heart in the same way as exercise;
• induces the formation of new blood vessels and capillaries;
• stimulates release of nitric oxide and other growth factors within coronary arteries;
• elimination or reduction of nitrate use
• improves blood supply to the areas where there has been coronary arteriosis;
• improves both coronary artery and bodily functions;
• stimulates long-term, positive changes in the circulatory system;
• affects the heart in the same as exercise;
• increases the body's stamina;
• reduces cardiac ischemia (the lack of oxygen to the heart muscle);
• reduces or eliminates chest pains and is particularly useful for patients who have already had heart surgery;
• enables increased daily activity and exercise;
• delays or eliminates the need for open-heart surgery or other invasive and highly traumatic procedures;
• is an alternative to coronary arterial dilation using angioplasty or stents;
• is an alternative to surgery recommended for patients with coronary arteriosis;
• is an outpatient treatment;
• is safe and painless although uncomfortable;
• is relatively inexpensive compared with most other procedures related to heart health; and
• improves a patient's quality of life.

EECP is an out-patient course of treatment administered by our heart center for 4-7 weeks for one to two hours per day during approximately 35 sessions. The standard is five, one-hour sessions at our heart health center each week for seven weeks.

"Counterpulsation" means the machine is synchronized with your heart beat ("pulse") to increase blood flow to the heart and coronary arteries as well as oxygen levels in the body while simultaneously improving the condition of the heart.

EECP treatment is advisable if you or your loved one:

• has chest pains due to acute myocardial infarction;
• has had acute myocardial infarction and been treated with medication, balloon angioplasty or stents;
• has had heart surgery yet still continues to experience chest pains;
• has angina despite maximal medical therapy and prior revascularization;
• cannot be treated for coronary arteriosis by heart surgery, angioplasty or stents;
• has had heart failure;
• has been recommended for coronary arterial dilation but you want a non-invasive alternative treatment.

Current and recent research and clinical trials indicate EECP:

• may improve symptoms in patients with heart failure;
• may be useful for treating unstable angina as an adjunctive therapy after revascularization in conjunction with procedures such as stent, coronary bypass surgery and angioplasty;
• may be advisable as a first-line therapy for more routine forms of angina instead of a "last resort".

EECP therapy could be harmful for persons who have:

• severe hypertension;
• irregular heart rhythm;
• aortic insufficiency;
• had recent cardiac catheterization;
• valvular heart disease;
• substantial arterial blockage in the legs; or
• a history of deep blood clots in the legs.

EECP therapy works by pumping air with perfect timing from a computer-controlled machine into long, inflatable bands (similar to a blood pressure cuff) strapped around a patient's calves, thighs and hips. The patient lies on a bed for an hour or so while the computer, triggered by the person's ECG, sequentially inflates and deflates, constricts and loosens the bands in rhythm with his or her heart beat.

When the heart relaxes, the machine pumps air into the bands, then deflates and loosens them before the heart constricts again. They deflate just as each heartbeat begins, and inflate just as each heartbeat ends, methodically and repeatedly pushing the blood towards the heart and into the coronary arteries. Deflation at the moment a heartbeat begins creates a vacuum in the arteries and reduces the load on the heart muscle.

USA Medicare approves EECP treatment so your health insurance is likely to cover it. If your insurance provider denies reimbursement for EECP, appeal the decision and you are likely to eventually be approved.

For additional information or to schedule an appointment for this remarkable therapy, please contact the Perfect Heart Institute at Piyavate Hospital International Health Care Service Provider.