EECP

EECP is FDA approved for treating angina and is used by more than 800 physicians in the US including those at leading medical centers such as Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins and the Cleveland Clinic. Besides angina, the treatment has been proven to benefit patients with congestive heart failure, a condition where the heart can't pump sufficient blood to meet the needs of the rest of the body. Heart failure is one of the fastest growing cardiovascular diseases in the US, nearly 5 million Americans have heart failure and over a half-million new cases are diagnosed each year.

What Exactly Is EECP?

During EECP treatments you lie on a special bed with a series of blood pressure cuffs wrapped around your legs. You are hooked up to an EKG, which triggers the cuffs to inflate and deflate in sync with the heart beat. During the resting phase of the heart, the cuffs inflate, pumping oxygen rich blood to the heart and the rest of the body. When the heart pumps, the cuffs rapidly deflate, then the blood vessels expand so blood gets ejected from the heart with less work for the heart muscle. You get all the benefits of a second heart pumping between each heartbeat. The procedure is not painful- you will feel a strong "hug" sensation as the cuffs inflate upward over the calves, thighs and buttocks. This completely noninvasive treatment is administered to patients on an outpatient basis usually in one-hour sessions, 2-5 days a week. The number of treatments depends upon the medical condition.

What Does It Do?

EECP improves the function and strength of the heart especially the left ventricle and decreases peripheral vascular resistance. The benefits of decreasing peripheral resistance means less work for the heart because it doesn't have to pump against such a high grade of resistance. You get all the benefits of exercise, without stressing your heart or even increasing your pulse rate. The amazing thing is that even though your heart doesn't have to work as hard during the treatment your heart muscle still gets stronger!

The Endothelium: A Living Organ

With all that being said, perhaps the most important benefit from EECP is what it does for our endothelium. The endothelium is the innermost lining of our arteries, only one cell thick and the largest organ in our body. The endothelial layer is comprised of about one trillion cells, has the surface area of six tennis courts and weighs more than your liver or about five hearts.

One of its functions is regulating the diameter of the blood vessel. EECP stimulates the endothelial cells to produce nitric oxide. Nitric oxide naturally dilates blood vessels and also has a proven antioxidant effect. Nitric oxide is one of the most important substances in our body having profound effects on the cardiovascular, immune and central nervous systems. The Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology 1998 was awarded for discoveries about the effects of nitric oxide.

EECP also suppresses blood vessel inflammation. Inflammation is a major factor in cardiovascular disease and plays a role in other chronic diseases such as arthritis, Alzheimer's and other conditions.

Who Would Benefit from EECP?

If you don't have angina or congestive heart failure, would there be any reason for a seemingly healthy person to undergo EECP? There are many such reasons. EECP improves coronary blood flow, reduces the workload of the heart and improves overall vascular function. One of the major benefits is that EECP opens up collateral circulation and new natural pathways around narrowed or blocked arteries. My opinion is that as we age our microcirculation gradually closes down slowing the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients to our cells.

EECP detoxifies the body by helping to remove metabolic waste products from cells and also by increasing circulation to the kidneys and liver, which are responsible for ridding the body of toxins. Keep in mind that the blood not only delivers vital substances to the cells, it also cleanses and washes out the cells. My personal opinion is that higher pressure of the EECP pumping action forces oxygen and nutrients into the cell more effectively than our heart muscle.

The potential for EECP to treat other medical conditions, maintain health and prevent disease is yet to be fully discovered. Some reports have shown that EECP has been used to effectively treat, Parkinson's disease, peripheral vascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, arthritis, erectile dysfunction, restless leg syndrome and to improve blood flow to the brain in patients with dementia.

Why wait until we might be diagnosed with these conditions? EECP offers not only therapeutic benefits, but amazing potential to prevent or at least slow the onset of many of the diseases that are so prevalent in modern-day living.

We have over 60,000 miles of blood vessels in our body, which pulsate with our heartbeat an average of 100,000 times a day. The blood and cardiovascular system are an ongoing miracle bringing life to our body. Take care of them.

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood" Leviticus 17:11.

"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life" Proverbs 4: 23.