Healthy Heart
Heart
Health
with Dr. Annie Varughese
Caring for Your Ticker
improving blood flow to your heart.
by DEREK GENOVESE
Patients with coronary artery disease or
plaque build-up in the arteries are at a higher
risk for a heart attack due to the diminishing
blood flow. “Bypass surgery, angioplasty and
placing a stent can help renew and increase
the blood flow to the heart, however not everyone is a candidate for these procedures.
Those who do not have the options do have
another choice: ECP Therapy,” says Dr. Annie
Varughese, at Advanced Cardiovascular Care
Center in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Varughese also says external counterpulsation therapy, or ECP therapy, is a way
of helping grow coronary arteries and renew
blood flow to the heart that were previously
blocked. Those who do qualify for ECP therapy include patients who are not suitable for
surgery to correct the blockage or who require
medication only.
According to External Counterpulsation’s
website, ECP therapy has been improved with
today’s standard of pseumatic (air) technology,
since its debut in the 1950s. The treatment is
now approved by the FDA primarily for heart
disease but utilized in countries around the
world for a variety of medical conditions. ECP
therapy is growing in popularity because it is
a low-risk, non-invasive treatment option at
a fraction of the cost of surgical and invasive
methods.
HOW IT WORKS. Over the course of aging, people typically become less physically
active which simultaneously results in a weaker heart muscle and increases the blockage in
your blood vessels leading back to the heart.
As explained on External Counterpulsation’s
website, ECP therapy begins by creating pressure on your extremities, including your calves,
thighs, and buttocks. It forces blood back up
through the vessels. The process restores proper blood flow to that part of the heart that is
lacking oxygen. The blood forced through the
body during each hour develops and expands
existing pathways of oxygenated blood back to
the heart muscle.
Proven Patient Benefits
• Increased Energy & Exercise Tolerance
• Increased Alertness
• Reduce or Eliminate symptoms of chest
pain
• Reduce symptoms of shortness of
breath
• Reduce symptoms of fatigue
• Reduce heart palpitation
• Strengthens the heart muscle
• Reduces Blood Pressure
• Peripheral Training Effects
• Cardiac Remodeling
• Improvement in oxygen consumption
www.extracounterpulsation.com
Dr. Varughese explains the process of utilizing ECP therapy, “With therapy five days a
week, for seven weeks, patients can experience
improved blood flow, energy and symptomatology.” This simple process is comparable to
the benefits of intense and consistent exercise
over the course of two months.
It takes intense exercise to strengthen the
heart and reduce oxygen consumption so your
body can be capable of performing more physical activity with less demand on the heart.
“ECP Therapy is similar to adding extra lanes
to a congested highway, allowing more blood
flow to the heart,” says Dr. Varughese.
ECP THERAPY’S BENEFITS. ECP therapy not only helps blood flow to the heart,
but to every vital organ in the human body as
Fall 2013
well. It can deliver blood where there are other
blockages, including artery openings that lead
to your lun