Macter introduces non-surgical treatment for heart patients in Pakistan
Enhanced External Counter pulsation (EECP) facility installed at the Kidney Centre’s cardiology unit.

Karachi: The inauguration ceremony of Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) treatment facility by Macter International Private Limited in collaboration with Vasomedical, Inc, USA was held at the cardiology unit of the Kidney Centre, Karachi.

This venture is a result of Macter’s acquiring exclusive Pakistan marketing rights to Vasomedical’s proprietary EECP® technology
— a US-FDA approved, non-surgical, and highly affordable outpatient therapy for the treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Speaking on the occasion as chief guest, Professor Noshad A. Shaikh, health secretary Sindh lauded Macter’s effective role in healthcare development in the country that it has played during the last 30 years by introducing latest, state-of-the-art medical technologies, not only for quality production of drugs and vaccines but also through projects like Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) treatment facility.

He was of the view that this initiative by Macter will help improve the quality of life of people with heart ailments and enable them to have a healthier, stronger heart. It would be a blessing for especially those who even after going through procedures of angioplasty and surgical bypass were not able to find a lasting cure to their illness, he remarked.

Haroon Ahmed Malik, Macter’s Head of Commercial, in his welcome address said that the patient-friendly EECP therapy is all about enhancing the rhythm of life of people with angina problems by revitalizing the heart’s function. People can get this treatment as a first option in the initial stages of angina to avoid further damage and improve the function of the heart, as well as after going through angioplasty or surgical bypass, he said.

He further said that EECP was a newly introduced technology in Pakistan but it was a highly sought for treatment in the US, UK and other developed countries since 2000, when it was approved by the US-FDA. More than 5,000 patients in the US alone are registered for the therapy and on an average a patient there has to wait for around three to four months to get the treatment, he disclosed. He further informed that EECP was recommended as the first line treatment for heart patients by the US health insurance companies.

Earlier, Dr Farhat Haseeb, EECP consultant, gave a detailed presentation on EECP and explained how the therapy was improving the quality of life of people with heart problems. After EECP treatment, she said, patients may discover a new feeling of strength and energy. They can walk farther; carry heavier packages and be more active without having angina; they can work easily, go out to dinner, garden, travel, or enjoy sports or exercise once again and they no longer have to restrict their social lives due to the fear of angina.

She said that EECP therapy was literally as easy as taking an hour’s rest. “The patient has to lie comfortably on a special therapy bed and a series of blood pressure cuffs are wrapped around the patient’s leg. The patient is then hooked to an EKG machine so the cuffs inflate and deflate in sync with the heartbeat. During the heart’s resting phase, when it normally receives its supply of blood, the cuffs rapidly inflate, pushing oxygen-rich blood towards the heart. Just before the heart begins to pump again, the cuffs rapidly deflate and blood leaves the heart without the muscles having to work as hard. Each treatment is 60 minute long and a patient has to come for 35 treatments in total,” she explained.

Discussing the function of EECP therapy, Dr Farhat Haseeb told that the therapy increases new vessel growth in the heart muscle through the stimulation of specialized cells in the lining of the vessel walls, causing the release of growth factors that lead to natural bypasses. It creates pathways around blocked arteries in the heart by expanding networks of tiny blood vessels, therefore increasing the amount of blood flowing to heart muscles.

Dr Farhat Haseeb informed that Vasomedical’s Enhanced External Counterpulsation system was in use at major US hospitals including the Mayo Clinic, Stony Brookes Hospital, The Ochsner Foundation Hospital and the Miami Heart Institute, as well as medical centres affiliated with Columbia University, The University of Pittsburgh, The University of California San Diego, the University of California San Francisco, and the University of Virginia. (Ends)