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MARGARET CHAMP - A PATIENT STORY

This page contains the following sections:

• What is ECP?
• How does ECP work?
• How effective is it?
• Who benefits from ECP treatment?
• Where else is ECP being performed?
• Where can I have ECP?

Introduction

Is Chest Pain, fatigue or shortness of breath robbing you of strength and stamina? Is it difficult to climb stairs, take a walk, or enjoy daily activities?

There is a way to reduce or eliminate those symptoms, without surgery, without drugs, and without going to the hospital! It's called ECP, and MSO provides the equipment to cardiologists and heart centers in the area.

What is ECP?  | TOP

ECP (External Counterpulsation) is a non-surgical treatment for Angina & Coronary Artery Disease. It is an alternative to bypass surgery and angioplasty. It works by stimulating the opening or formation of small blood vessels (collaterals) to create natural bypasses around narrowed or blocked arteries. See our Frequently Asked Questions section to answers to common questions.

ECP is performed over a series of several weeks, with each session lasting from one to two hours. During each session, three air (pneumatic) cuffs are placed on each of the patient’s calves, lower thighs and upper thighs. Precisely timed by a computer to match the heartbeat, these cuffs are rapidly, sequentially inflated from the calves to the upper thighs. As a result, the blood vessels in the leg are gently compressed and blood is forced back to the heart. This may reduce the pain of Angina, increase one’s level of exercise and decrease the need for medication.

Unfortunately, some patients (e.g., those with severe Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) and/or phlebitis) are not appropriate for ECP.

As a result, ECP can reduce or eliminate:

• Angina
• Chest Pain
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue

ECP Is:

• Safe.
• Painless.
• Non-invasive/Non-surgical.
• Outpatient based procedure.
• FDA cleared.
• Fully covered by Medicare and most health plans. Note for Medicare patients: Medicare reimburses for ECP at its determined customay rate (UCR), and patient is reponsible for 20% of the bill as is the case in any treatment reimursed by Medicare. Check with your plan administrator and doctor's office for more information about reimburseent.
• Currently in use at major health institutions, including the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins.
• Supervised by medical professionals: MDs and Nurse Practitioners.
• Proven to provide lasting, long-term reduction or elimination of symptoms .

How ECP Works  | TOP

The patient puts on pressure cuffs, similar to the cuffs used to measure blood pressure.

The cuffs are tightly placed on the calves, thighs and lower abdomen.

He or she then lies on a comfortable treatment bed. Hoses then connect the cuffs to the ECP system which contains a series of valves that sequentially inflate and deflate the cuffs with air.

The valves are controlled by signals running from an electrocardiogram (ECG), a device that measures the heart’s electrical activity, to a microprocessor.

When the heart is resting (diastole), the three cuffs rapidly inflate in sequential order, from the cuff at the calf to the cuff at the upper thigh, which forces blood back to the heart. Just before the next heartbeat, the cuffs quickly deflate. The inflation/deflation cycle occurs between 60 and 80 times each minute during the session. The treatment is relatively painless. Once the patients are used to the sensation of the inflating cuffs on their legs, most are very comfortable and some even sleep during treatment. We suggest you bring a walk-man with you if you like.

Sessions last one to two hours and are usually scheduled once a day. There is a resting period if a patient receives two sessions in a single day. Typically, an entire course of therapy is 35 hours in total. After each treatment, the patient may return home. No special medication or invasive technique is required with ECP.

How effective is it?  | TOP

ECP is a proven effective treatment and may be a preferred option for many patients. Published clinical studies on ECP show:

• An 80% success rate with patients experiencing significant improvement or complete end to their symptoms of heart disease.
• Most patients reduce or eliminate their use of nitroglycerin and other medications.
• Most patients have major improvements in stamina, exercise tolerance, and overall quality of life.
• Benefits of ECP have been shown to last for at least three years, as shown on stress thallium tests that illustrate the improved blood flow to the heart muscle.
• One study found that patients do just as well five years after ECP as those who have surgery.

Who benefits from ECP Treatment? | TOP

ECP has been proven to be an effective treatment for patients with Coronary Artery Disease and Angina.

Recently, promising research has also been performed on patients with congestive heart failure.

ECP is particularly well-suited for the following individuals:

• Those who have already had angioplasty or bypass surgery, but symptoms of their heart disease have returned or persisted.
• Those who are not candidates for invasive or surgical procedures because of an underlying medical condition or anatomical constraints.
• Those who are unwilling to have surgery.
• diabetic patients with small coronary vessels.
• Women who have small coronary vessels.
• Patients with Coronary Artery Disease who, despite previous surgery or angioplasty, must continue to rely on medications and must curtail their activities to avoid Angina and other symptoms associated with their heart disease.

Are any of the large medical institutions providing ECP to their patients?| TOP

ECP is performed at more than 300 locations throughout the U.S., as well as in 13 other countries (Argentina, Canada, Columbia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Saudia Arabia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom). Here is a partial list of U.S. institutions that perform ECP:

• Beth Israel Medical Center,
• Christ Hospital and Medical Ctr.
• Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center
• Columbia University
• Grant Riverside Methodist Hospital
• JFK Medical Center, Atlantis, FL
• Johns Hopkins Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente of Denver
• Loyola University Medical Center (Chicago)
• New England Deaconess Hospital (affiliate of Harvard Medical School)
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton
• Texas Heart Institute
• The Cleveland Clinic
• The Mayo Clinic
• The Miami Heart Institute
• The Ochsner Foundation Hosptal
• Univ. of California at San Diego
• Univ. of California at San Francisco
• Univ. of Florida at Gainesville
• Univ. of New York at Stony Brook
• University Hospital UMDNJ/NJ Medical School
• University of California, San Francisco
• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
• University of Virginia
• Yale University School of Medicine

For a list of sources for additional technical and medical information regarding ECP, please click here.
 

Where can I have ECP?| TOP

MSO has launched a free referral service. A computerized system will collect all the information we need to provide you with information on the nearest available clinic. Click here to find out more.