EECP therapy help improve the quality of life of heart patients: Prof Azhar Faruqui

Karachi: Professor Azhar Masood A. Faruqui, Executive Director, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) Karachi has termed the new non-invasive treatment Enhanced External Counter pulsation (EECP) a welcome addition to the latest cardiology treatments and has appreciated Macter in intoroducing it to Pakistan EECP is a latest US-FDA approved therapy requiring no surgical procedures for the treatment of heart diseases specially for heart patients who no longer respond to conventional procedures like bypass and angioplasty.
Speaking at a seminar organized, by Macter International, at NICVD to introduce EECP Professor Faruqui said many of his patients who opted for EECP have shown positive signs of recovery and were living a much better life.
He appreciated the efforts of Macter in introducing modern medical therapies like EECP, which he said, would certainly help in providing relief to heart patients who have already undergone angioplasty and bypass surgeries but are unable to lead a normal life due to continued symptoms of angina and shortness of breath.
Dr Nageeb Basir, a consultant cardiologist at Aga Khan University Hospital, informed in his presentation that the EECP treatment works by increasing the blood flow to the heart. Long inflatable cuffs, like those used to measure blood pressure, are wrapped around the patient's calves, thighs and buttocks to increase blood flow as the cuffs inflate and deflate with each heartbeat pushing the blood up the leg towards the heart, while an ECG heart monitor checks the heart beat.
Dr.Basir said that results proved that many patients who underwent the treatment have done really well and that their lives have been improved. He said that patients who do not benefit from conventional treatment for heart failure may benefit from EECP therapy. The cost of the treatment in Pakistan, he informed, is around 120 thousand rupees which is much lower than India.
NICVD assistant professor, Dr Zahid Jamal, said that the treatment is a six-week (35 sessions) course involving hourly sessions for six days a week. During each session, the patient lies on a special treatment bed and has the cuffs wrapped around their legs.
Dr. Jamal explained that the EECP therapy gently but firmly compresses the blood vessels in the lower limbs to increase blood flow to the heart. Each wave of pressure is electronically timed to the heartbeat, so that the increased blood flow is delivered to the patient's heart at the precise moment it is relaxing. When the heart pumps again, pressure is released instantaneously. This lowers resistance in the blood vessels in the legs so that blood may be pumped more easily from the heart.
EECP may encourage blood vessels to open small channels that become extra branches. These channels or collaterals may eventually become "natural bypass" vessels to provide blood flow to heart muscle. This contributes to the relief of angina symptoms. A patient may be a candidate for EECP if he or she has chronic stable angina, are not receiving adequate relief from angina by taking nitrate, or do not qualify as a candidate for invasive procedures (bypass surgery, angioplasty, or stenting).
Published studies that have been conducted at numerous USA centers have demonstrated benefits for most patients, including less need for anti-anginal medication, reduction in symptoms of angina, increased ability to do activities without onset of symptoms and the ability to return to enjoyable activities.
Macter International has set up two EECP centers in Pakistan last year-one at the cardiology unit of The Kidney Centre, Karachi and another at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad.