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ECP: The New, Old Method For Bypassing Coronary Bypass

by — 2015-07-21 in Cardiovascular Disorders and Diseases
Many alternative healers have built their practices around "bypassing bypass," opening coronary blockages without surgical intervention. Some of these methods work, and some do not. ECP is a doctor-approved method that opens arteries naturally.

A few years ago, my American friend Robert had a heart attack. Ten days later, he had another heart attack. Three weeks later, he had a third heart attack.

Having access to the best of US high-tech medicine, Robert was finally wheeled in (after cardiovascular episode number four) for a stent procedure. He was sedated, but awake. The surgeon asked for a bare-metal stent, which could be best explained as "the cheap kind," not a drug-eluting stent. The chief surgical nurse was surprised and asked for confirmation. "The patient is financially challenged," the doctor said.

The stent procedure did not really work, and Robert had multiple blockages. He was in the hospital ten times, and had to have yet anoth"cer stent procedure. After this third surgery, Robert saw his dead mother and his dead father and various friendly spirits come into his room just before the EKG monitor went flat. He died. The "cheap stent" had collected blood clots. After 12 minutes of epinephrine, atropine, and CPR, Robert woke up just as another doctor was saying "360. No detectible pulse." Then this new doctor apologized, "No time to give you anesthetic" and opened an artery to put in yet another stent, another of the cheap stents, it turned out.

Two years and 33 hospitalizations later, Robert was told that the stent inside the stent inside the stent in that particular artery was again failing. Robert demanded no more. By that time, however, Robert did not really have a choice. The other surgeons had left no place for a coronary graft, a bypass, to be placed on the sick artery. Fortunately, it turned out there was (and always was) a non-surgical way to treat him, external counterpulsation, or ECP.

What Is ECP?

ECP, external counterpulsation sessions, represents a nonsurgical, noninvasive method of increasing the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. The best non-technical explanation is to liken it to a series of blood pressure cuffs (usually six) placed on the lower legs, thighs, and buttocks, that are hooked up to an EKG machine. When the EKG detecs that the heart is in diastole, that is, it is resting, the blood pressure cuffs send blood back to the heart so it will not have to pump as hard. This gives the heart a chance to rest. It also nourishes arteries.If there are collateral arteries, which are essentially "extra" arteries either from birth or created by stem also nourishes them. These "extra" arteries can serve the same function as a bypass, without the actual bypass.
 
Variations of this method have been used in Russia and in countries around the world for decades. Long before there was such a thing as bypass surgery, there were variations of ECP. They worked, but they require intensive effort by the doctor over a period of months. If you get ECP, your doctor clearly cares that you get well, because it's not a simple "one and done" procedure that yields a big profit on your care.

What Is It Like To Get ECP?

Many people report that their external counterpulsation sessions are a lot like getting a massage. There is the inconvenience of having to check into a hospital every weekday for eight to twelve weeks, but the sessions are only an hour long, there is nothing that hurts, and you are seen by your cardiologist at least by your doctor's head assistant each and every day. At the end of several months of treatment, you know your doctor very well, and your doctor knows you very well. You may find you don't "need" bypass at all. It's a shame that my friend is stuck in a country where he is a profit center rather than someone who gets medical help, but at least he finally got directed to the treatment he probably should have had in the first place.

What Can You Expect From ECP?

The prime candidate for external counterpulsation is someone who has "irregular" chest pain, who doesn't respond very well to nitroglycerin or nitrates like Imdur (sometimes the effects of these medications wear off if they are taken too long, for a year or more), who has known coronary artery disease, and who cannot have a bypass operation. The procedure is also used to treat congestive heart failure.

ECP and coronary bypass graft surgery are not "either or." It's possible to benefit from both. Some people are put on ECP after they have bypass surgery. However, a majority of patients benefit from the procedure by:

  • Relief from chest pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue.
  • Lowered risk of another, potentially fatal heart attack.
  • Reduction of frequency and severity of angina.
  • Ability to reduce or eliminate medication, and with those reductions, to eliminate side effects.
 
There is not a lot that can go wrong with ECP, but there are occasional inconveniences. These may include:
  • Pressure marks, redness, or irritation where the cuffs are placed. This usually can be avoided by wearing tight, elastic clothing, like a gym suit or track suit to the session.
  • Muscle aches, in the calves, thighs, and buttocks.
  • Fatigue. If you have severe heart disease, even lying down for an hour can be tiring. The passive exercise accomplished during the session actually can cause fatigue.
  • Headache. For the same reason that many people get headaches after they use their nitroglycerin tablets or take nitrates such as isosorbide mononitrate, Imdur, Monoket, or Ismo, they may also get headaches after ECP. The procedure opens arteries, including in the head, and this can cause brief pain of a kind like that caused by eating ice cream too quickly, although not as severe.
Usually the side effects of ECP are tolerable. They are certainly a great deal less than the side effects of bypass surgery. There is no anesthesia (and no risk of long-term brain changes from general anesthesia), no need for blood transfusions, and no healing of nasty scars. There is also no need to adhere to a careful schedule of anticoagulant medications as there is after stent placement.
 
Not everyone can have ECP. It can't be used during pregnancy. It is contraidicated when there is uncontrolled tachycardia (fast pulse) and it is not for people who have pacemakers. People who have heart valve disease cannot have it, and neither can people who have "thin blood," who have blood clotting problems, since the procedure could cause both internal and external bruising. Uncontrolled arrhythmia (heart rhythm problems) and high blood pressure are also disqualifying.
However, for people who have blocked arteries, and who can't or just won't have bypass surgery, ECP can be a wonderful oppotunity for recovery: No drugs, no chelation, no heart bypass surgery, althout with results in a few months, instead of a few days, for this procedure usually covered by American health insurance.

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