Patient Selection

Some people may not be candidates for EECP treatment because of their medical conditions. Only a physician can make a decision regarding whether or not you are a candidate for EECP treatment.

Once you are eligible to receive EECP treatment, it is important that you understand the treatment schedule. Patients typically attend one-hour treatment sessions once a day, five days a week for seven weeks. Many people receive treatment, without interruption to their employment, by scheduling their sessions before or after work

To make sure the treatment goes smoothly, please follow your Pre-Treatment Instructions, which will be similar to those at the back of this booklet. You may wish to bring a book, a magazine, or a portable CD or tape player with earphones. You also may wish to invite a family member or friend to accompany you.

At the EECP center, your therapist will explain each step as you go through treatment. You may be given a pair of stretch pants to wear at each treatment session. Although treatment usually takes one hour, you should plan to spend approximately 1-1/2 hours at the treatment center.

Once patients have changed clothes, a therapist will weigh them, and take their blood pressure. Patients will lie on a padded table in a treatment room. Three electrodes will be applied to the patient’s chest to take a constant ECG reading during treatment. A finger sensor, called a plethysmograph, will be placed over patient’s finger like a thimble. This sensor records tracings that represent blood pressure.

The therapist will wrap a set of inflatable cuffs around patient’s calves, thighs, and buttocks. Patients are likely to feel a sensation of a strong “hug” moving upwards from the calves to thighs to buttocks during inflation followed by the rapid release of pressure on deflation.