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 | About EECP |
Do you:
- Remember a time when you could do more?
- Get short of breath when you climb stairs?
- Get tired more easily than you used to?
- Keep nitroglycerin handy in case you have an angina attack?
If you have heart disease and answer "yes" to any of these questions, EECP (Enhanced External Counterpulsation) can help! You may not realize that your symptoms or lack of energy are caused by your heart disease. But fatigue and shortness of breath are not a part of getting old, and you do not "just have to learn to live with it." These symptoms, along with chest pain or pressure, pain in the jaw, neck, arms and back, result from lack of blood flow. They are the heart's way of crying out. And there is something you can do about it that is covered by insurance, and doesn't involve surgery or a hospital visit.
EECP (Enhanced External Counterpulsation) is:
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Clincally proven to be as effective as bypass surgery, angioplasty, and stents
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FDA-approved, Medicare-approved and covered by insurance
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The only non-invasive treatment for coronary artery disease, angina, and congestive heart failure
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Offered by leading medical centers including the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and right here in Atlanta by Georgia Heart Center
Perhaps best of all: EECP doesn't bring any of the risks or recovery time associated with surgery.
How does it work?
EECP improves the flow of healthy, oxygenated blood to the heart by opening or forming small (collateral) blood vessels, which create natural bypasses around narrowed or blocked arteries. In doing so, EECP:
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Reduces or eliminates angina
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Increases energy and stamina
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Returns patients to activities they thought they had given up forever
Very simply, patients tell us, EECP "lets them live again."
How effective is it?
Studies on EECP show most patients:
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Significantly improve or completely eliminate their symptoms (angina)
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Significantly increase their stamina, exercise tolerance, and quality of life
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Reduce or eliminate their use of nitroglycerin and other medications
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Experience these benefits for many years, as shown on stress thallium tests that illustrate the improved blood flow to the heart muscle
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Are less likely than bypass and angioplasty patients to go to the emergency room, require hospital stays, and undergo additional surgical procedures
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One study found that patients do just as well five years after EECP as those who have surgery
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What happens during EECP treatment?
EECP is as easy as taking an hour's rest! Here's how it works:
- You lie comfortably on a special bed, and a series of blood pressure cuffs are wrapped around your legs.
- An EKG triggers the cuffs to inflate and deflate in sync with your own heart beat, pumping healthy blood throughout your body and taking a load off your heart.
- During the heart's resting phase, when it normally receives its supply of blood, the cuffs inflate, pushing oxygen-rich blood toward your heart.
- Just before your heart begins to pump again, the cuffs rapidly deflate and blood leaves your heart without the muscle having to work as hard.
- Most patients read, listen to music, or even sleep during the hour-long treatment.
- Each treatment is 60 minutes long, and you come for 35 treatments in total.
Who benefits from EECP Treatment?
Nearly everyone with coronary artery disease, angina, or congestive heart failure can benefit from EECP. It is particularly well-suited to people who:
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Have already had angioplasty, stents, or bypass surgery, but their heart disease symptoms have returned or persisted.
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Are not candidates for surgery due to other medical conditions
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Do not want to undergo surgery
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Are diabetic
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Have small vessels (often women)
- Rely on medications or curtail their activities to avoid angina and other heart disease symptoms
What other conditions benefit from EECP?
EECP is not just an effective therapy for angina. Virtually any condition in which poor circulation is a contributing factor can benefit from EECP. Some of the other conditions are below:
Where else is EECP performed?
EECP is performed at more than 600 locations throughout the U.S., as well as around the world, including: Argentina, Canada, Columbia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Saudia Arabia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Here is a partial list of U.S. facilities that perform EECP:
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Christ Hospital and Medical Ctr.
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Univ. of California at San Diego
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Texas Heart Institute
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Univ. of California at San Francisco
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JFK Medical Center, Atlantis, FL
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Univ. of Florida at Gainesville
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Kaiser Permanente of Denver
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Univ. of New York at Stony Brook
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The Mayo Clinic
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The Cleveland Clinic
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Beth Israel Medical Center, NY City
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Johns Hopkins Medical Center
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The Ochsner Foundation Hosptal
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University of Pittsburgh
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University of Virginia
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The Miami Heart Institute
Find out what thousands of heart disease sufferers have already discovered. They are "living again," thanks to EECP.
Georgia Heart Center offers consultations at their office in Atlanta. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about EECP, see it first-hand, and speak one-on-one with one of our doctors to find out if EECP is right for you.
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