EECP (enhanced external counterpulsation) is a remarkable noninvasive treatment for heart disease. Developed at Harvard Medical School decades ago, it was enthusiastically embraced throughout the world as a safe, nonsurgical treatment for coronary artery disease and heart failure. In the United States, however, EECP was ignored in favor of bypass surgery and angioplasty, which were on their way to becoming a multibillion-dollar industry.
Using EECP for More Than 20 Years
I first learned about EECP 20 years ago, and Whitaker Wellness became one of the first clinics in the US to offer this extraordinary noninvasive treatment for heart disease. It has since been adopted by hospitals and others medical centers and is recognized as an effective treatment for relieving angina and improving heart function.
Problem is, most cardiologists refuse to order EECP until their patients have tried and failed multiple prescription medications, angioplasty and/or bypass, and are seriously ill with angina or heart failure.
The reality is EECP should be first-line treatment for anyone with coronary artery disease, heart failure, or other cardiovascular conditions because it has profound benefits for the entire cardiovascular system.
Profound Benefits of EECP
EECP “exercises” the blood vessels, causing them to rhythmically expand and contract. This stimulates the release of nitric oxide (NO), a signaling molecule produced in the blood vessels that has broad benefits for vascular health. EECP dilates the arteries, which improves blood flow and reduces pressure on the vessels, and strengthens the heart muscle. It also promotes collateral circulation, the formation of new blood vessels that naturally bypass blockages.
Patients can take advantage of all the benefits of EECP by undergoing a full course of 35 treatments. These improvements in health typically include dramatic reductions in angina, shortness of breath, and other signs of coronary artery disease. Those with heart failure experience significant improvements in ejection fraction (EF, a measure of the heart’s pumping capacity), something drugs and surgery cannot do. Furthermore, results are enduring.
Say No to Angioplasty: EECP Saved Dorothy’s Life
Six years ago, Dorothy was rushed to the hospital, diagnosed with a heart attack, and recommended to have immediate angioplasty. Actually, “recommended” is the wrong word. When she declined the angioplasty, Dorothy and her family were systematically bullied by one doctor after the another, with warnings that without the procedure, she’d go into “full cardiac arrest.”
After her discharge from the hospital, Dorothy came to Whitaker Wellness and was treated with lifestyle changes, nutritional supplements, and EECP. Within two weeks, she had no more chest pain or shortness of breath, and by the time she completed her course of EECP, she was off all heart medications. Today she is taking no drugs and has no symptoms of heart disease.
Bypass and Angioplasty Largely Ineffective…
More than a million patients every year buy into the scare tactics that Dorothy resisted and consent to coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty. But research clearly shows that they are not the lifesaving interventions they’re cracked up to be.
Clinical trials dating back to 1977 show that, for the vast majority of patients, bypass surgery provides no benefits over conservative medical therapy. The annual death rates in both groups are essentially the same, and 100 patients would have to be operated on to save just one life.
Angioplasty fares no better, as demonstrated by dozens of studies, including a 2014 meta-analysis that concluded, “PCI [angioplasty] with MT [medical therapy] was not associated with a reduction in death, nonfatal MI [heart attack]…or angina compared with MT alone.”
As for safety, even the most uneventful coronary artery bypass involves hospitalization and prolonged recovery. Then there’s the danger of surgery-related infection, bleeding, stroke, heart attack, and the highly significant risk of enduring memory loss. Sure, angioplasty is less invasive, but why bother if patients do just as well, or better, without it?
…And Deadly
I know that this flies in the face of popular belief, but consider this study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in December 2014. A Harvard research team tracked patient outcomes during the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, when thousands of the top cardiologists are out of town. To their surprise, they found that high-risk patients with cardiac arrest or heart failure were much less likely to die if they were hospitalized during this time.
Similar scenarios occurred during doctors’ strikes in Los Angeles County in 1976 and in Jerusalem in 2000. There’s only one explanation: The first thing to go during physician shortages is elective and non-emergency surgeries. In the Harvard study, far fewer angioplasties and other interventions were performed when cardiologists were away, leading the researchers to conclude, “…the harms of this care may unexpectedly outweigh the benefits.”
In an editorial accompanying this study, Rita Redberg, MD, concedes the “possibility that more interventions in high-risk patients with heart failure and cardiac arrest leads to higher mortality.”
Aggressive cardiac interventions may be good for hospitals and cardiologists, but they’re rarely in the best interest of patients. If you or a loved one is pressured to have an angioplasty or bypass, get a second opinion. Foregoing an “urgent” intervention could save your life.
Benefits of EECP: Safe and Very Effective
EECP, on the other hand, is noninvasive, requires no hospitalization or recovery time, and after three or four weeks—far less time than it takes to recuperate from a bypass—the problem is often eliminated.
Bob Holtcamp has a long history of cardiovascular disease: heart attack, stroke, hypertension, heart failure—you name it, he’s had it. Bob tried everything his doctors recommended, but he continued to go downhill. Debilitating fatigue prevented him from walking up a flight of stairs without stopping halfway to catch his breath, and during his trip to Whitaker Wellness, his wife had to push him through the airport in a wheelchair.
Within days of beginning EECP, he was up and about, his blood pressure fell from 156/101 to a normal 122/70. He lost 29 pounds (most of it fluid accumulation caused by a failing heart) and his ejection fraction went from 17 to 38. He left in great spirits, ready to get back to work.
EECP: A Vastly Underutilized Therapy
If you are dealing with coronary artery disease or heart failure and would like to pursue a noninvasive alternative like EECP, don’t expect to hear about it from your conventional doc. Physicians and facilities whose livelihoods depend on surgical interventions are not likely to endorse a relatively inexpensive therapy that can be administered outside a hospital—even if that therapy is safe and effective.
In my opinion, this is an economic decision. The surgical approach, which requires a lengthy hospital stay, recovery period, and cardiac rehabilitation, costs upwards of $100,000. For a fraction of that ($5,000–7,000), you could get 35 treatments of EECP, a therapy that can be completed in as little as three weeks, performed in a doctor’s office—and delivers results within days.
To learn more about the benefits of EECP and other noninvasive treatments for heart disease, call the Whitaker Wellness Institute at (866) 645-2064 . There is no doubt that EECP will improve your heart function, reduce angina—and maybe save your life.
