EECP Therapy A Treatment for Heart Disease and Congestive Heart Failure:
External Counter Pulsation:
External Counter Pulsation, or EECP Therapy, is a lifesaving medical treatment that has been used for the past 40 years. This non-invasive procedure can help with the symptoms of heart disease and congestive heart failure by increasing blood and oxygen flow to the body.
What is EECP Therapy?
EECP therapy is a USA – USA-FDA-approved treatment for heart disease and congestive heart failure. It uses an advanced synchronized machine to deliver counter-pulsation during the diastole phase of heart relaxation. With the help of 3 air pressure calves. This air pressure helps the heart to pump blood more effectively and improves blood flow in the coronary arteries and other vital organs of the body. EECP therapy is a safe and effective treatment for heart disease and congestive heart failure.
What are the benefits of EECP Therapy?
EECP therapy is a promising new treatment for Angina, Heart Blockages, and congestive heart failure. EEPC is a 100% non-invasive procedure that activates the hibernated inactive coronary arteries and helps in the formation of millions of new channels around the ischemic myocardium, and another area of the heart. This is how the damaged resulting scar tissue helps support the healthy tissue around it, improving the heart’s function and potentially reducing symptoms.
There are many potential benefits of EECP therapy, including:
1. Eliminating chest pain
2. Improving Heart Pumping Function
3. Reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke
4. Slowing the progression of heart disease or congestive heart failure
5. Avoiding or delaying the need for more invasive treatments, such as bypass surgery or stent
How does EECP Therapy work?
EECP Therapy has been shown to be safe and effective in clinical several clinical trials. EECP Therapy works by delivering air pressure to the lower leg, thigh, and buttocks through electrodes placed on the chest. The electrocardiogram of the heart is the input to the EECP Machine that stimulates the air calf in a synchronized manner during diastole that causes improvement in the heart function by activating the dormant arteries. EECP Therapy can be delivered in a hospital or clinic setting, but it can also be done at home with a portable device.
In one study, EECP Therapy was found to be effective in reducing symptoms of congestive heart failure. In another study, EECP Therapy was found to improve the quality of life in patients with heart disease.
How long is the treatment, and how many sessions will I need?
EECP therapy is a form of treatment that is used to treat chest pain or angina due to blockages in the coronary arteries and improve heart function and congestion in people who have heart failure. The duration of EECP therapy varies from person to person, but most people will need around 60 minutes of treatment per day for 3-5 days a week. The number of sessions needed will also vary from person to person, but most people will need between 35 to 45 Sessions in total.
Who can benefit from EECP Therapy?
EECP therapy can be used to treat a number of heart conditions, including Congestive Heart Failure (Low Heart Pumping or Weak Heart), Heart Attack, Coronary Artery Disease, Chest Pain (Angina), Arrhythmias in some cases, Diabetes, Brain Stroke, Paralysis and Any kind of circulatory disorders. EECP therapy has been shown to be safe and potentially effective in numerous clinical trials, and it is an FDA-approved treatment for heart disease.
EECP is a non–invasive treatment of Angioplasty and Bypass Surgery. The patients who are not fit for the surgery, the cases with failed bypass surgery or Angioplasty, and Among the patients who don’t want to go for the risky invasive procedures.
EECP therapy can improve the quality of life for patients with heart conditions by reducing symptoms and improving cardiac function. In one study, patients who underwent EECP therapy had a significant improvement in their exercise capacity and quality of life post-EECP Therapy, compared to those who did not receive EECP therapy. EECP therapy is typically performed as an outpatient procedure, and most patients can return to their normal activities within a few days.
If you have been diagnosed with heart disease or congestive heart failure, talk to a doctor who is an expert in EECP Treatment about whether EECP therapy may be right for you or not.
Conditions that do not respond to EECP Therapy
There are a number of conditions that do not respond to EECP Therapy. These include:
1. Arrhythmias
2. Atherosclerosis
3. Hypertension beyond 160 / 100
4. Aortic valve disease
5. Pulmonary hypertension
6. Tachycardia (above 100)
Is there any type of insurance coverage for this therapy?
Despite such great results of EECP Therapy as compared to heart surgery Indian Medical System still considers EECP Treatment as an experimental therapy and there are very few insurance companies that may cover EECP Therapy whereas in the USA the biggest insurance companies in the world like Medicare, Medicaid, and other private insurance companies are giving reimbursement of EECP Therapy without any difficulty. Even if the insurance companies are giving the reimbursement there may be some out-of-pocket costs for this therapy, depending on the plan and coverage.
The cost of EECP therapy will vary depending on the severity of your condition and the number of sessions required. However, on average, each session will cost between Rs. 2000 to 3000. Therefore, the total cost of treatment will depend on the number of sessions recommended by your doctor.
Cost of EECP Treatment in India:
In developed countries, EECP treatment is not cheap. The therapy can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000. However, the cost of the therapy in India is much lower than in developed countries like the United States.
In India, EECP treatment costs between Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 120,000. This is a fraction of the cost of the therapy in developed countries. The lower cost of EECP treatment in India is due to the lower cost of living and lower wages in the country.
If we look at the ground-level truth there is no dough that EECP treatment with significant lifestyle changes has been proven to be much more effective when compared with Bypass Surgery and Angioplasty in the majority of cases but most interventional cardiologists do not consider EECP treatment even to try.
If you are considering EECP treatment, be sure to check with EECP Expert Doctor to see if it is right for you. EECP is a new and promising treatment for heart disease but it is still being studied, and the long-term effects are still under research. EECP may not be covered by your health insurance, so be sure to check with your insurer before you begin treatment.
The Future Perspective of EECP:
Based on the available literature EECP therapy has been found to be a potential treatment for heart disease and congestive heart failure. While more research is needed to determine the efficacy of EECP therapy. EECP has emerged as a new hope for patients with no hope because preliminary studies have shown potential promising results moreover there are very limited doctors who actually practice non-invasive treatment methods like EECP Therapy and the mutual interest among doctors and funds available for this research is very less. Another reason is still unknown why most interventional cardiologists hate too much EECP Therapy, they are not even open even in evaluating the mechanism of how a patient increases his heart function with EECP.
Despite no support from cardiologists, the truth always stands, and the number of patients who choose EECP as the first line of treatment is increasing day by day. In a country like India now there are over 300 EECP centers. Now there is a need for a regulated EECP association that can train the EECP practitioner in the proper way.