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Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP)
Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) A treatment for those with symptomatic coronary artery disease, not eligible for standard treatments of revascularization. During EECP, cuffs wrapped around the calves, thighs and buttocks are inflated and deflated, gently but firmly compressing the blood vessels in the lower limbs, increasing blood flow to the heart. EECP may stimulate the openings or formation of collateral vessels to create a "natural bypass" around narrowed or blocked arteries.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Artery
A blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body.
Disease
Illness or sickness often characterized by typical patient problems (symptoms) and physical findings (signs). Disruption sequence: The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a destructive agent such as the rubella (German measles) virus.
Blood
The life-maintaining fluid which is made up of plasma, red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), and platelets; blood circulates through the body's heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries; it carries away waste matter and carbon dioxide, and brings nourishment, electrolytes, hormones, vitamins, antibodies, heat, and oxygen to the tissues.
Heart
The hollow, muscular organ responsible for pumping blood through the circulatory system.
Collateral
In anatomy, a collateral is a subordinate or accessory part. A collateral is also a side branch, as of a blood vessel or nerve.
Arteries
Blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart to the arms, legs, head, body and organs.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Enhanced external counterpulsation
A non-invasive out-patient treatment for heart disease and, in particular, for angina (chest pain due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle). EECP is designed to relieve angina by improving perfusion in areas of the heart deprived of an adequate blood supply. EECP uses a device to inflate and deflate a series of compressive cuffs that are wrapped around the calves and lower and upper thighs. The basic principle involved is that of counterpulsation. The cuffs inflate during diastole, the period when the heart muscle relaxes and the chambers fill with blood. The cuffs inflate sequentially from the calves upwards, resulting in increased pressure in the aorta and coronary arteries. Compression of the vascular bed in the legs also increases the return of venous blood to the heart and increases cardiac output. Patients are customarily treated with EECP for an hour a day for a total of 35 hours.
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Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
A test that records on graph paper the electrical activity of the heart via small electrode patches attached to the skin. An EKG helps a physician determine the causes of abnormal heartbeat or detect heart damage.
Electrolyte
One of the substances in the blood that helps to regulate the proper balance of body fluids. Examples of electrolytes include sodium and potassium.
Electrophysiology (EP) Study
An EP Study is a recording of the electrical activity your heart. This test is used to help your doctor find out the cause of your rhythm disturbance and the best treatment for you. During the test, your doctor may safely reproduce your arrhythmia, then give you medications to see which one controls it best.
Endocarditis (SBE)
An infection of the inner lining of the heart or its valves. It is usually caused by bacteria and is more likely to occur in people who have heart valve defects or have had heart surgery to treat valve disease.
Endothelium
The interior surfaces of blood vessels. The endothelium, which is the site of atherosclerosis in arteries, is composed of specialized cells called epithelial cells.
Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP)
Erythrocyte (red blood cell, red cell, red corpuscle)
Red blood cell that delivers oxygen to tissues and removes carbon dioxide and other waste products.
Essential Fatty Acid
A type of fatty acid that the body cannot produce and which must be obtained from food; play a role in recovery after surgery, the making of cell membranes, and prevention of infection.
Exercise Stress Test
A test used to provide information about how the heart responds to stress. It usually involves walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike at increasing levels of difficulty, while the electrocardiogram, heart rate and blood pressure are monitored. When one is not able to do activity, medications may be used to "stress" the heart. This is called a pharmacological stress test.
E coli
Short for Escherichia coli, the colon bacillus, a bacterium that normally resides in the human colon. E. coli has been studied intensively in genetics and molecular and cell biology because of its availability, its small genome size, its normal lack of pathogenicity (disease-causing ability), and its ease of growth in the laboratory. Most strains of E coli are quite harmless. However, some strains of E. coli are capable of causing disease, sometimes disease of deadly proportions. For example, an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in the water supply hit Walkerton, Ontario in the year 2000; the E. coli affected about 2,000 people in and around Walkerton and were responsible for the deaths of some 18 people.
E coli hemorrhagic diarrhea
Bloody colitis (inflammation of the bowel) caused by E. coli, usually by the strain E. coli 0157:H7. The diarrhea is severe with painful abdominal cramps, gross blood in the stool, and lasts for 6 to 8 days. Most commonly, E. coli 01257:H7 comes from eating raw or undercooked ground beef (hamburger) or from drinking raw milk or contaminated water. Less commonly, E coli O157:H7 can be transmitted from one person to another.
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