Advanced Heart Disease Patient Regains Lost Energy, Attends 50-Year Class Reunion After Receiving EECP® Therapy at Heart House in Washington Township
Dr. Scott Fertels says non-invasive treatment boosts blood flow to the heart, relieves chest pain, and improves energy and mobility for about 80 percent of patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease
Online, May 9, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Dr. Scott Fertels, a cardiologist with Cardiovascular Associates of the Delaware Valley, NJ, is pleased to announce the Heart House in Washington Township is now offering a non-invasive treatment for patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease called Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) therapy. The FDA-cleared, painless procedure, which may reduce and/or eliminate symptoms of angina and congestive heart failure by increasing blood flow to the heart, is delivered in a series of daily one-hour sessions on an out-patient basis. EECP therapy is covered by Medicare and most commercial insurers and has been proven in many clinical trials published in medical journals to be safe, effective, and a significant cost savings.
"We have administered EECP therapy to many of our patients since the inception of the program in June, 2011, and the treatment was able to relieve a variety of associated anginal and heart failure symptoms including chest pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue," says Dr. Fertels.
Dr. Fertels said that during EECP therapy, the patient reclines on a soft padded table while a series of cuffs, similar to blood pressure cuffs, are wrapped around the legs and lower torso. The cuffs are then inflated and deflated in time with the patient's own heartbeat. This squeezing action gently compresses the blood vessels in the lower limbs, driving oxygen-rich blood up to the heart during the heart's resting phase. "The increased blood flow helps promote the growth of collateral arteries which form a 'natural bypass' around diseased arteries, thereby allowing more blood to reach deprived heart muscle," says Dr. Fertels. "In addition, clinical studies have demonstrated that this action also improves the patient's cardiovascular system producing a reduction in other symptoms of cardiovascular disease."
Dr. Fertels says that prior to receiving EECP therapy most patients were significantly limited in their ability to perform daily activities due to their symptoms. "Many of the patients are now able to walk considerable distances and participate in activities without experiencing any symptoms," says Dr. Fertels. "One of our patients, an 82-year-old gentleman with a history of coronary artery bypass and prior intracoronary stents, was even able to go jogging without chest pain, fatigue, or shortness of breath after completing his EECP treatment."
Dr. Fertels said he received a particularly heartwarming note from a 68-year-old female patient with advanced heart disease. "She wrote that prior to receiving EECP, she was constantly overwhelmed by fatigue and discomfort, unable to travel to the supermarket without needing to spend the entire next day recovering in bed," says Dr. Fertels. "After completing the entire EECP treatment protocol, she said her energy level was so much improved that she decided to take a 300-mile trip to be with old friends at her 50-year high school reunion."
Dr. Fertels says that candidates for EECP therapy are patients who have had prior cardiac bypass and/or intracoronary stents, but are still experiencing anginal- related chest pain, as well as patients non-amenable to having either of those modalities who are experiencing symptoms.
The Heart House in Washington Township is one of the six Heart House locations owned and operated by the Cardiovascular Associates of the Delaware Valley (CADV), the largest independent cardiology practice in South Jersey with 27 cardiologists and a talented, professional staff servicing nine hospitals in the Southern New Jersey area.
Additional information about EECP therapy is available from The Heart House in Washington Township, located at 570 Egg Harbor Road, Suite B-1, Harbor Pavilions, Sewell, NJ, 08080. Phone 856.582.2000.
Visit The Heart House online at www.cadvhearthouse.com.
EECP® is a registered trademark of Vasomedical, Inc., Westbury, NY.
About Scott Fertels, D.O., F.A.C.C.
Dr. Fertels received his undergraduate training at Ithaca College and graduated from Drexel University with a M.S. in Biology. He earned his D.O. degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), and completed his Residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowships in Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology at Thomas Jefferson University.
