Pierre:
How does EECP work?... In simple terms, the effect of EECP are remarkable DURING the treatment itself.
EECP consist of a series of "balloon", arounf the calves, thighs and lower abdomen... those inflate in sequence (from the calves up) when the heart has just finished ejecting its blood... the heart then relaxes, ... and these cuffs inflate, immediately... pushing blood:
(1) quickly up the leg VEINS,... therefore bringing more blood to the heart (...a way to "feed the pump")... and
(2) backward, up the ARTERIES... there it helps maintain pressure in the upper aorta, thereby increasing blood flow to the heart, brain...
That is the basic effect during the treatment... It leads to a 60+% increase in cardiac output (60 more percent of blood is now circulating in the body...
The second benefit is, as described in previous papers, a persistent improvement of chest pains due to a condition where lack of blood flow is present though the heart (a condition named angina),... It has been suggested that this persistent improvement of blood flow is due to the improvement of small arterioles feeding the heart muscle. That seems quite possible to me.
The multicenter trial was supposed to convince everybody that the previous findings can be repeated when a study is done with a placebo control group... the problem: we are still waiting for that study.
FHG.
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