Enhanced external counterpulsation may help patients fight against long COVID
Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is associated with significant improvements in the health of long COVID patients with and without coronary artery disease (CAD), according to new data to be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Cardiovascular Summit.
The small study included 50 patients still feeling symptoms associated with COVID-19 months after their diagnosis. While 20 patients had a history of CAD, the remaining 30 patients did not. All patients were evaluated both before and after they underwent 15 to 35 hours of EECP therapy over the course of seven weeks. Each treatment session lasted approximately one hour, with pneumatic cuffs inflating and deflating to push oxygen-rich blood though the patient’s heart and the rest of their body.
Overall, researchers observed consistent improvements in study participants based on their health status, functional capacity, fatigue levels, shortness of breath and walking capacity. Whether or not a patient presented with a history of CAD did not appear to impact the benefits of EECP.
“Emerging data shows that long COVID is a disease that impacts the health of vessels, also known as endothelial function,” senior author Sachin A. Shah, PharmD, chief scientific officer at Flow Therapy in Fort Worth, Texas, said in a prepared statement. “EECP is a disease-modifying, non-invasive therapy that has previously shown to improve endothelial function in controlled clinical trials. We currently believe that this is the most plausible explanation for the benefits derived from EECP and the link to long COVID.”
Shah also noted that several study participants were “disabled to the point of not being able to work.”
“Remarkably, all patients at this point were able to successfully return back to work after undergoing treatment,” he said. “These patients also showed improvement in 'brain fog,' which is a common symptom of long COVID.”
EECP has not been approved by the FDA as a treatment for long COVID, but it has previously been approved to treat and manage both refractory angina and heart failure. The researchers said that larger studies are required to validate this small study’s findings.
The ACC’s Cardiovascular Summit virtual conference is scheduled to run from Feb. 16 to 19, 2022. Additional information is available here.
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Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.