EECP can be beneficial ?

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Published reports have found that EECP is a relatively safe and effective option for certain people with angina. The Multicenter Study of Enhanced External Counterpulsation (MUST-EECP) randomly assigned 139 people with angina from seven US hospitals to receive either active EECP or a placebo (inactive) procedure for 35 hours over four to seven weeks.

About two-thirds of the people receiving EECP benefited from the treatment. Compared with the people who received the placebo procedure, those who completed the active EECP sessions had significantly less angina and tended to need less nitroglycerin. Also, people who received the active EECP were able to exercise longer before experiencing chest pain. Ten people dropped out of the study because of adverse events – half of them because of leg pain or chafing. The study was published in the June 1999 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

EECP appears to have both short-term and long-term benefits. A study published in the April 2000 issue of Clinical Cardiology reported results in 33 patients with coronary heart disease who received EECP. After five years, 64 percent did not need bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty and did not have a major adverse cardiovascular event. This rate is similar to that found in many people who are treated with bypass surgery or angioplasty.

A more recent study showed that the procedure relieves angina and improves perfusion (blood flow to the heart) during stress in patients with coronary artery disease. The research was published in the April 1, 2002 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.Doctors are uncertain exactly how EECP helps ease angina. The procedure may stimulate the growth of tiny blood vessels in the heart and help bypass blocked blood vessels. This would increase blood flow and oxygen to deprived areas of the heart. EECP may also improve the function of existing blood vessels.