PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 7, 1996 -- A pro-physiological treatment performed on an outpatient basis with specially designed blood pressure regulating equipment, Enhanced External Counterpulsation offers another option in the treatment of angina for the country's 6.7 million people suffering with chest pain.

Is angina life-threatening?

Angina signals heart disease, the number one killer. Two to four percent of people with angina die from heart disease.

Nearly seven million people in the United States suffer with angina pectoris. An estimated 350,000 new cases occur each year. Of this number, approximately one million will have invasive procedures; six million patients who are maintained on drug therapy live in varying degrees of discomfort. Angina is frequently crippling and disabling; patients are unable to live normal lives.

How often can drug therapy alone be used to treat angina?

Medication is the first line of treatment for patients suffering with angina pectoris. Unfortunately, in most patients, in time, medication becomes insufficiently effective.

When should Enhanced External Counterpulsation be used to treat patients with angina?

Enhanced External Counterpulsation may be used to treat any patient with chronic stable angina, but is usually reserved for patients for whom medication is becoming insufficient.

Will Enhanced External Counterpulsation eliminate the need for bypass surgery?

No. Some patients with more extensive disease or who have disease of the left main coronary artery require bypass surgery. Enhanced External Counterpulsation is an option for patients who are unsuitable or unwilling to undergo invasive procedures. For patients who have undergone multiple invasive procedures and for whom additional surgery carries excessive risk, Enhanced External Counterpulsation may be the only way to obtain relief from crippling angina.

How long has Enhanced External Counterpulsation been used to treat angina?

In 1989, researchers at State University of New York at Stony Brook began clinical studies of Enhanced External Counterpulsation. Until the summer of 1995. Enhanced External Counterpulsation was only available to patients participating in clinical studies. Today Enhanced External Counterpulsation is available at treatment centers throughout the country. However, it has been used successfully for the past fifteen years in China.

Is Enhanced External Counterpulsation cleared by the FDA?

Vasomedical received marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an upgraded version of Enhanced External Counterpulsation in March 1995.

How many Enhanced External Counterpulsation treatment centers are there in the country?

There are 25 treatment centers and five clinical sites. Researchers and clinicians will provide briefings on Enhanced External Counterpulsation at the American Heart Association conference in New Orleans, November 10-13.

Thanks to The Doctor's Guide to the Internet™ for the article