Enhanced External Counterpulsation  (Click here for related article)

• EECP therapy is an outpatient treatment for angina (chest pain).

• The therapy is typically given in 35 one-hour-sessions, five days a week, for seven weeks. 

• Patients lie down on a padded table and have their calves and lower and upper thighs wrapped in blood pressure-like cuffs.

• Enhanced External Counter Pulsation utilizes the EECP Device to inflate and deflate a series of compressive cuffs wrapped around the patient's calves, lower thighs, and upper thighs. 

Step One The lowest cuffs inflate, beginning the counterpulse.	Step Two The middle cuffs inflate, advancing the counterpulse.	Step Three The upper cuffs inflate, advancing the counterpulse.	Step Four All cuffs immediately deflate, making it easier for the heart to pump.

• The system, which is synchronized to the individual patient’s cardiac cycle, inflates the cuffs with air to create external pressure when the heart is resting (diastole) and deflates the cuffs just before the heart beats (systole).

• The system’s action, which pulses counter to the heart's beating, increases blood flow to the heart muscle, decreases the heart’s workload and creates a greater oxygen supply for the heart muscle while lowering the heart's need for oxygen.