Content What is EECP® Therapy?     How does EECP® therapy relieve the symptoms of angina and heart failure?   Guidelines to prepare for treatment     EECP® therapy: Simple, non-invasive, effective.

What is EECP^® Therapy?
EECP^® therapy is an outpatient treatment for angina and heart failure. Treatments are usually given for an hour each day, five days a week, for a total of 35 hours.

During the treatment, you lie on a comfortable treatment table with large blood pressure-like cuffs wrapped around your legs and buttocks. These cuffs inflate and deflate at specific times between your heart beats. A continuous electrocardiogram (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.



How does EECP^® therapy relieve the symptoms of angina and heart failure?
Angina is a signal from your heart muscle that it is not receiving enough blood and oxygen because the arteries that supply the heart muscle are blocked or narrowed. Angina, often called “chest pain,” can also be pain down the left arm, between the shoulder blades, or in the jaw.

Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle becomes so weak it cannot pump enough blood to meet the demands of the rest of the body. There are two types of heart failure. The most common type is “ischemic.” The heart muscle is damaged by a long-standing lack of sufficient blood and oxygen, or by a heart attack. The other type is “non-ischemic” or “idiopathic.” Some of the possible causes include a viral infection of the heart muscle, disease of the heart valves, hight blood pressure, or the abuse of alcohol or drugs, or the cause may not be known. Heart failure symptoms include having trouble breathing and feeling very tired after even a small amount of effort.

EECP^® therapy works by increasing the blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle and decreasing the amount of work the heart has to do to pump blood to the rest of the body. While the heart is at rest, the treatment cuffs inflate from the calves to the thighs to the buttocks, which increases the blood supply to the arteries feeding the heart muscle. Just before the next heart beat, all the cuffs deflate at the same time, which decreases the amount of work the heart has to do.

Follow these easy guidelines to prepare for treatment:

EECP^® therapy: Simple, non-invasive, effective.
Before beginning EECP treatment your therapist will ask you to empty your bladder and to change into the special treatment pants. Next, your blood pressure, pulse, breathing, and weight will be checked. Then, you will be asked about any changes in your angina or your condition since your last treatment. When you are lying comfortably on the treatment table, your therapist will put three ECG patches on your chest and wrap you snugly into the treatment cuffs. The finger sensor is applied at the start and again during the treatment hour so your therapist can check the readings and make adjustments that will give you the most effective treatment.

As the therapy begins, air fills the cuffs and the pressure will squeeze your legs and buttocks. The cuffs will inflate and deflate, gradually feeling tighter until the full treatment pressure is reached. At this point, you’re free to listen to music, watch TV, or take a nap for the rest of the hour.

It’s important to tell your therapist if you are experiencing angina, having trouble breathing, feeling points of pressure or pain, or need to use the rest room. A brief pause in the treatment to make you more comfortable will not decrease the benefits.