Quality of life benefits

What effect does EECP have on a heart patient’s quality of life? That’s a fair question. After all, you’re not coming here to increase your treadmill time. You’re interested in EECP because you want to feel better. Fricchione’s study described the beneficial effects of EECP on life style parameters such as sense of well being, ability to work, and sexual function. Lawson’s group takes a different approach in this article, measuring the effect of EECP on Canadian Functional Class, a sort of global rating of a cardiac patient’s functional status. Functional Class was assessed before and after treatment, in 670 patients undergoing EECP at 41 centers throughout the US. (Note that 25% of the patients enrolled in the EECP Registry came from your EECP Center, The EECP Center of Northwest Ohio.) A decrease in functional class is considered to be a beneficial outcome. Conversely, if functional c lass increases, that means that the patient got worse. First the definitions, then the results:

Class 1: Ordinary physical activity (such as walking or climbing stairs) does not cause angina. Angina may occur with strenuous, rapid, or prolonged exertion (work or recreation).

Class 2: There is a slight limitation of ordinary activity. Angina may occur with walking or climbing stairs rapidly; walking uphill; walking or stair climbing after meals or in the cold, in the wind, or under emotional stress; walking more than two blocks on the level and climbing one flight of stairs at a normal pace under normal conditions.

Class 3: There is a marked limitation of ordinary physical activity. Angina may occur after walking one or two blocks on the level or climbing one flight of stairs in normal conditions at a normal pace.

Class 4: There is inability to carry on any physical activity without discomfort; angina may be present at rest.

From the table you can see that no patient deteriorated. That is, no patient experienced an increase in functional class following EECP. 69% of the patients in Classes 1-3 improved by at least one level and 20% improved by two or more. All 50 patients who began EECP in functional class 1 stayed there; none worsened.