Benefits of ECP Therapy Questions and Answers

ECP treatment is a non-invasive therapy that was specifically created to help patients with heart problems. One of the most common uses of ECP therapy is to relieve pain caused by angina. It also helps patients who do not want to go for expensive heart surgeries, which can also come with a long list of potential risks. ECP therapy is a straightforward procedure. Since the treatment does not require any type of surgery, patients need not be worried about the risk of infection. A trained therapist performs the procedure and ensures that it follows the strict protocols provided. It starts with wrapping up the muscular area on the calves with padded straps, with other areas of focus including the buttocks and thighs. These padded straps are used in these areas to pressurize the muscles and improve the flow of blood. Pneumatic cuffs are connected through a hose to add more pressure to the selected area, which inflate and deflate automatically. The pneumatic cuffs come in different sizes. Depending on the patient’s condition, the therapy can last for several weeks.

Clinically proven benefits of ECP therapy include:

-Increasing energy & exercise tolerance
-Increasing alertness (brain function)
-Reducing or eliminating symptoms of chest pain
-Reducing symptoms of shortness of breath
-Reducing symptoms of fatigue
-Reducing heart palpitations
-Reducing leg pains from peripheral vascular disease
-Strengthening the heart muscle by reviving hibernated parts of the heart from lack of circulation
-Increasing in perfusion creating natural bypasses around narrowed arteries of the heart as well as other organs such as the brain, liver, lungs, and kidneys
-Sustainable relief of ischemic heart disease symptoms
-Sustainable increase in coronary perfusion
-Improvement in sexual function for men
-Reducing symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
-Reducing symptoms of dementia (Alzheimer’s Disease)
-Reducing blood pressure
-Decreasing workload of the heart
-Retrograde arterial flow increasing endothelial function
-Peripheral training effects (similar to exercise)
-Cardiac remodeling (stunned & hibernated myocardium)
-Promotion of collateralization
-Improvement in oxygen consumption (VO2)
-Regression of atherosclerosis
-Improvement in ventricular function
-Increase in cardiac output
-Release in growth factors
-Reduction in angina & heart failure symptoms
-Decrease in medication (including nitroglycerin & Ranexa)

Cardiac output is defined as the amount of blood the heart can pump in one minute and is dependent on several factors, including heart rate, contractility, preload and afterload. ECP helps increase cardiac output by deflating the cuffs just prior to systole (when the heart contracts or pumps), which also rapidly drops vascular impedance and decreases ventricular workload. The specific method used in ECP therapy (compressing vascular beds in the thigh and calf muscles) has many positive impacts on heart health, including an increase in diastolic pressure and an increase in venous return.

To learn more about how ECP therapy can benefit you, visit Sterling Heart Care today. Our kind and compassionate professionals are dedicated to helping you improve your heart health and specialize in noninvasive therapies that come with few or no risks. Call us today, book an appointment online, or visit our clinic conveniently located at 4330 Maple Road, Buffalo, NY 14226. We look forward to serving you! We serve patients from Buffalo NY, Pine Hill NY, Sloan NY, Kenmore NY, Cleveland Hill NY, and Kaiser Town NY.