EECP Heart Center of Kansas 
Roger Evans, M.D.
Medical Director
Linda Rae Rolfe, R.N.
EECP Clinical Coordinator
Clinics In Wichita, Great Bend, Liberal, and Neodesha
|
EECP Heart Center of Kansas Roger Evans, M.D. |
Clinics In Wichita, Great Bend, Liberal, and Neodesha |
|
Home News Benefits Patient Info Contents Contacts Physician Info Education Info |
Enhanced External Counter Pulsation is a non-invasive treatment for chest pain and the symptoms of heart failure. Currently, in the United States there are over 8 million people who suffer from angina, and thousands more from the symptoms of heart failure. EECP is a non-invasive therapy, which does not require hospitalization. It has been proven to reduce or even eliminate angina pain while stabilizing the symptoms of heart failure. History of EECP Therapy The concept of counter pulsation dates back to the 1950’s, when Cardiologists wanted to find a method of increasing the blood flow into the coronary arteries when a patient was in trouble. The first counter pulsation machine looked much like an Iron lung machine. There were water filled balloons, which expanded against the lower extremities at a set rate in hopes to move more blood back to the heart. Improvements were made in the 1960’s by adapting counter pulsation machines with a hydraulic pump. This enabled the water to pump quicker thus being able to keep up with the patient’s heart rate more effectively. In the 1970’s when advanced heart interventions such as angioplasty procedures and bypass surgery was more readily acceptable, counter pulsation was adopted by the Chinese government where a less costly form of outpatient therapy was needed. Counter pulsation went through many improvements in China, one such improvement was switching to an air compressor, which released a set amount of pressure through valves located in a specially designed therapy bed. In 1985 a group of cardiologist from the United States, observed a counter pulsation machine during a health conference in China. They were so impressed with the results that they decided to investigate the use of counter pulsation here in the United States.
In 1995 after 10 years of research a company called Vasomedical received approval from the FDA and reintroduced counter Pulsation therapy for the treatment of patients with angina pain.
Lets review the anatomy of the heart so you can understand how EECP therapy works: There are three major arteries that lie on the outside of the heart. These arteries supply the blood and oxygen necessary to keep the heart muscle healthy. The right coronary artery feeds the right side of the heart. It also wraps around the back of the heart. The left anterior descending artery feeds the left side of the heart. The circumflex artery feeds the upper left side of the heart and wraps around the back of the heart. Blockages that occur in the arteries reduce the amount of blood
flow and therefore the amount of oxygen rich blood to the heart muscle.
Angina is defined as a condition marked by recurrent pain, usually in the chest and left arm, caused by a sudden decrease of blood supply to the heart muscle. The heart muscle must have oxygen rich blood to remain healthy. Oxygen is transported to the heart muscle by the coronary arteries. Angina symptoms can vary. Persons may complain of fatigue, shortness of breath, or feeling a tight band around their chest. They may experience a heavy feeling in or around the chest, or even tightness in their neck or jaw line. They may also experience discomfort described as either sharp or dull. Pressure can be felt in the back between the shoulder blades, or pain can radiate down an arm. Some have even described an earache, which can indeed be angina. How do blockages in the hearts arteries occur? The formation or accumulation of cholesterol forms blockages in the arteries.
What does cholesterol look like in the arteries? Cholesterol is a crystalline substance found in a animal fats, blood, nerve tissue and bile. If you would slice an artery in half you would see what looks like a very thick slightly yellow cottage cheese substance. This substance accumulates and develops into a narrowing which bocks the blood flow in the coronary arteries. These blockages may reduce or even stop the flow of blood to a portion of the
heart muscle and cause damage.
The heart muscle has been shown to develop new pathways around blockages, which are called collateral circulation or natural bypass. However, the development of natural bypasses is a slow process and not everyone has the natural ability to develop them at a rate that will relieve angina pain. Normally about 18% of the blood pumped out of the heart returns to fill the coronary arteries. EECP therapy can increase that blood return by up to 40%.
How does EECP therapy work? EECP therapy uses cuffs, which look much like blood pressure cuffs. They are wrapped around a patient’s lower extremities. The cuffs are then connected to a special therapy bed. The EECP therapist is trained to adjust the inflation and deflation of the cuffs. The cuffs remain inflated while the coronary arteries fill with oxygen rich blood and deflate just prior to the heart pumping again, which insures the best possible therapy. The increase in arterial blood flow produced by EECP therapy will dilate the natural pathways and stimulate the heart to grow new pathways and stimulate the heart to grow new pathways around the blockages. EECP therapy is comfortable. Most patients watch TV, listen to the radio, or talk with their therapist. We take care of all the insurance paperwork. It is our policy to make sure our clients ore aware of their financial responsibility prior to starting therapy.
|