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If you have chest pain that occurs during exercise or activities like walking up stairs or carrying a heavy item, you may be a good candidate for enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) therapy. At Lorven Heart and Vascular Institute, LLC, in Ocala, Florida, the experienced cardiology team recommends EECP therapy to ease your symptoms when medications don’t help. Call the office today or connect online to request an appointment and learn if EECP therapy may be a treatment choice for your chest pain.
EECP Therapy Q & A
What is EECP therapy?
EECP therapy is a noninvasive treatment that uses pressure applied to your legs to increase blood flow to your heart. Boosting circulation to your heart increases its pumping action, which helps strengthen the muscles, encourages blood vessels to create new pathways, and improves the heart’s overall function.
When can I consider EECP therapy?
EECP therapy is most often used to treat stable angina, chest pain that occurs due to blocked coronary arteries. You have stable angina if your chest pain predictably occurs when your activity level increases or you’re under stress.
The Lorven Heart and Vascular Institute, LLC, providers typically recommend EECP therapy when medications don’t improve your chest pain, you don’t qualify for surgery, or your symptoms reappear after an invasive procedure.
However, EECP therapy may also improve symptoms caused by other conditions, including some that aren’t related to your heart:
- Congestive heart failure (your heart can’t pump enough blood)
- Cardiac syndrome X (angina without blocked coronary arteries)
- Kidney failure (kidneys can’t function, often due to high blood pressure or diabetes)
- Lung disease (includes any conditions affecting your ability to breathe)
EECP therapy improves your ability to tolerate exercise if you have lung disease. Increasing blood flow may also improve the kidneys’ ability to filter wastes from your blood.
What happens during EECP therapy?
During EECP therapy, you relax on a treatment table while your provider places inflatable cuffs around your legs and buttocks. They also place electrocardiogram (EKG) patches on your chest and a sensor on your finger to measure oxygen and pressure.
Information from the EKG and pressure sensors synchronizes the cuffs with your heartbeat. The cuffs inflate and tighten when your heart rests (pushing more blood to your heart), and then loosen when your heart pumps blood to your body.
You feel pressure from the cuffs, but EECP therapy should be comfortable. EECP sessions typically last one hour, then you can go back to your normal routine as soon as your treatment finishes.
Most people have EECP therapy five days a week for seven weeks. But you may also be able to schedule your therapy in twice-daily sessions for 3½ weeks.
If you have chest pain, call Lorven Heart and Vascular Institute, LLC, today, or use online booking to learn if you’re a good candidate for EECP therapy.