The Cost Effectiveness of EECP
Approximately 6.8 million people in the United States suffer from angina, with 400,000 new cases diagnosed annually, and 80,000-100,000 patients are refractory and suffer from angina or angina equivalent symptoms. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and many other third-party insurance payers provide coverage for patients who have been diagnosed with disabling angina (Class III or Class IV, Canadian Cardiovascular Society or equivalent classification) who, in the opinion of a cardiologist or cardiothoracic surgeon, are not readily amenable to surgical intervention, such as PCI or cardiac bypass because:
1. Their condition is inoperable, or at high risk of operative complications or post-operative failure, 2. Their coronary anatomy is not readily amenable to such procedures; or
3. They have co-morbid states, which create excessive risk.
There are 5 million patients in the United States and approximately 22 million worldwide suffering from heart failure. It is the leading cause of hospitalizations in patients over the age of 65, and is one of the largest burdens on the U.S. healthcare system, costing in excess of $20 billion annually.
EECP therapy has been demonstrated to reduce both emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations in heart failure patients with left ventricular dysfunction by 86% and 83% respectively, from 1.4 to 0.2 ER visits and 2.4 to 0.4 hospitalizations per patient per year.
EECP is a non-invasive outpatient therapy for the treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system, serves to increase circulation in areas of the heart with less than adequate blood supply and helps to restore systemic vascular function; increases blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart muscle and other organs, and decreases the heart’s workload and reduces oxygen demand; and improves function of the endothelium, the lining of blood vessels throughout the body, lessening resistance to blood flow. EECP Therapy treats stable or unstable angina, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and cardiogenic shock.