EECP is a treatment for cardiovascular diseases such as angina and heart failure for whom invasive treatments such as surgery are not an option.
The treatment has to be prescribed by a Cardiology Specialist but referrals can be made by GPs, other Specialists and patients themselves.
The treatment usually consists of 35 one hour sessions over a five to seven week period. During the one hour session, the patient lies on a couch with cuffs applied to their calves, thighs and buttocks. ECG leads are attached to the chest to measure the cardiac rhythm. During each cardiac cycle, the cuffs inflate and deflate sequentially from the calves upwards whilst the heart is in diastole (resting phase). The inflation leads to a large increase in coronary arterial blood flow, the deflation leads to a reduced after load and a decrease in the amount of work the heart has to do to pump blood into the aorta for systemic circulation.
Over the course of treatment the balance of chemicals important for constriction and dilatation of the coronary arteries changes, promoting the growth of collateral vessels around areas of heart muscle poorly supplied by coronary circulation, leading to an increased pumping ability of the heart.
Patients experience increased exercise tolerance, decreased pain and breathlessness, decreased visits to hospitals and GPs and sometimes a decrease in medication.
If you wish to find out more about EECP please contact our nurse Tonya Cheatham at Alexander House.
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