ECP Treatments

Do you have chest pain (angina) that your physicians have not been able to treat with conventional procedures like coronary angioplasty and/ or stents?

Do you take nitroglycerin and other medications and don’t get relief from chest pain?

Do you have heart failure (HF) symptoms which has not been completely treated with conventional medical treatments?

You may be a candidate for External Counter Pulsation Therapy EECP or as it is also called ECP treatments.

San Tan Cardiovascular Center has been providing this valuable treatment for our patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart failure (HF) as an adjunct to other conventional medical and interventional treatments for the angina. This is a safe, non-invasive treatment, administered in our office.

ECP Treatments at San Tan Cardiovascular Center

You will have a one hour session 5 times a week for 35 days (7 weeks total).

You will be asked to bring your own set of stockings, leggings or pantyhose to wear during each treatment. Once you arrive for the scheduled sessions you will change into these.

While lying on a padded table in a treatment room, three electrodes are put on your chest and connected to an electrocardiograph (ECG/EKG) that displays your heart’s rhythm. Your blood pressure is also tracked.

External Counterpulsation Therapy room at our Mesa, AZ location

A set of comfortable cuffs is wrapped around your calves, thighs, and buttocks. They attach to air hoses that connect to valves that inflate and deflate the cuffs.

You’ll feel a strong “hug” upward from your calves to thighs to buttocks while the cuffs inflate, followed by a rapid release of pressure on deflation. Inflation and deflation are electronically synchronized with your heartbeat using the ECG signal. By monitoring your ECG reading and your blood pressure, your therapist can time the counter pulsation accurately.

You can listen to music, read or even sleep during EECP therapy.

Most insurances cover this treatment. Our insurance specialists will work with your insurance to get the authorization needed for coverage and payment.

How do I get started?

Contact San Tan Cardiovascular Center today to make an appointment with one of our healthcare providers.

At this appointment:

• we will review your medical history, discuss your symptoms and perform a non-invasive, diagnostic test to further determine your medical condition,
• any pertinent testing that needs to be done beforehand will also be ordered at this time.

Our billing department will then contact your health insurance company to obtain prior authorization. Upon receiving insurance authorization, the treatments will be scheduled.

ECP Treatments FAQs

Q: How do I qualify for this treatment?

A: Once the cardiologist has evaluated you, he or she will order certain tests to make sure you don’t have some clinical conditions that will make this treatment unsafe for you. (Ex: abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), severe blockages in the arteries of your legs (PAD) as well as blood clots in the veins of the legs (DVT). You will then be cleared for these treatments.

Q: How does this treatment improve my chest pain or strengthen my heart?

A: During EECP/ ECP treatment, blood is pumped into the heart arteries with increased pressure. The immediate result of this pumping is to dramatically improve blood flow back into the heart while simultaneously reducing the heart’s workload. It improves blood flow to the heart vessels with increased oxygen delivery. This then improves symptoms and increases patient’s stamina and exercise capacity.