(Enhanced External Counterpulsation) is a new, Medicare approved, noninvasive, outpatient treatment for angina and coronary artery disease. When applied over a course of time, EECP/ECP® reduces angina frequency, improves a persons exercise capacity, and may even result in reduced need for medications. EECP® is not a replacement for bypass surgery or angioplasty, but is an alternative treatment for those patients who can no longer benefit from additional surgery or angioplasty, and for whom medical therapy has already been maximized.

The course of EECP/ECP® therapy involves 35 consecutive one hour sessions. During an EECP/ECP® office visit, a patient lies on a comfortable bed and has blood pressure-type cuffs wrapped around his or her calves and thighs. Cardiac monitoring wires are attached to the patient's chest to record the heartbeat, and then the EECP® pumping console rapidly inflates and deflates the leg cuffs in time with the heartbeat. The benefits of EECP/ECP derive from its ability to create new blood vessels in the heart. This Natural Bypass happens as blood in the lower extremities is pumped back at high pressures to feed the heart muscle using cuff inflation.

The now famous, randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled MUST-EECP/ECP study, conducted at major university centers including Harvard, Yale and Columbia, showed that approximately 80% of patients undergoing a course of EECP® had sustained clinical benefit one year later.

EECP/ECP® therapy is now available in our office. If you, or a loved one, are in need of this exciting new treatment, call our doctor.

Nearly everyone with coronary artery disease, angina, or congestive heart failure can benefit from EECP/ECP. It is particularly well-suited to people who:

• Have already had angioplasty, stents, or bypass surgery, but their heart disease symptoms have returned or persisted.
• Are not candidates for surgery due to other medical conditions
• Do not want to undergo surgery
• Are diabetic
• Have small vessels (often women)
• Rely on medications or curtail their activities to avoid angina and other heart disease symptoms