Feb 13, 2008 7:44 am US/Pacific
New Treatment Puts Squeeze On Heart Disease
May Result In Reduced Pain For Some Patients
NEW YORK (CBS News) ―
A new, non-invasive, outpatient approach to treating serious
heart disease is decidedly low-tech and offers some patients an alternative to surgery.
The treatment is called "enhanced external counter-propulsion," or
EECP, and involves wrapping blood pressure cuffs around the legs to push blood
back up to the heart in time with a person's heartbeat.
Doctors say the treatment results in reduced pain and an improved quality of
life for patients, without the use of needles, surgery or hospital stays.
EECP expert, Dr. Debra Braverman, of the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia, is on the forefront
of this therapy.
Braverman said EECP is gaining in popularity.
EECP is designed to treat angina, which, Braverman explained, is an umbrella
term for symptoms of coronary artery disease when the heart isn't receiving
enough blood and not enough oxygen. Blood vessels that carry oxygen to the
heart become narrowed or blocked. Angina may feel like chest pain or pressure,
shortness of breathe, fatigue, or nausea.
Generally, Braverman said, EECP involves 35 hours of treatment over a
seven-week period.
EECP works, Braverman said, by improving blood vessel function.
One study last year, and one coming out this March, found
that EECP created new cells to line the blood vessels. It can heal the lining
of the blood vessels. When the treatment was conducted on pigs, researchers
found that the blood vessels started to become normal.
It's really "an astounding finding," Braverman
told CBS News. "It works like a passive form of exercise. We're exercising
your circulation for you. Patients love that."
Many EECP patients have already had such surgeries as a stent implantation or
bypass, and many take medications.
EECP is for people who generally can't have more surgery, or
don't want surgery and are still restricted by their heart disease.
The treatment is used in chronic, stable patients, not in
emergencies. Many people want to delay surgery to see if this non-invasive
therapy will work. It's not suited for people with a leaky aortic valve, blood
clots in the legs, or blood pressure that's out of control.
EECP isn't a cure, Braverman said, and it's not for everyone, but people do say
they take less medicine with it, have more energy, and rely less on drugs such
as nitroglycerin.
EECP isn't a once-in-a-lifetime treatment, Braverman said. Heart disease is
chronic, and symptoms can return.
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