By Stephanie Malingen, Marketing, PAHCS In the spring 2001 edition of Health Care Happenings, we shared with you information on the new heart treatment provided by PAHCS. Enhanced External CounterPulsation (EECP) is noninvasive and unlike angioplasty, bypass surgery, and medication, can provide long-lasting relief. EECP attempts to increase blood flow to the heart by encouraging growth in the smaller arteries around the heart. PAHCS now has six patients who have completed the treatment. I spoke with three of them to find out if treatment had helped their angina. Duane Bluhm resides in Paynesville during the summer and in Arizona for the winter. He first heard about EECP while he was in Arizona this past winter. He attended a seminar in February and had signed up to take the treatment in an Arizona hospital. He wasn't looking forward to the early morning city driving - he had to be in downtown Phoenix by 8 a.m. every morning. Not two weeks later, Duane received the Paynesville Press along with the Spring 2001 edition of Health Care Happenings. On the front page was an article on the EECP treatment he was about to start in Arizona. So instead of making the long drive to and from downtown Phoenix for treatment, he made a call to PAHCS and signed up for the EECP. He began his treatments in May and will finish the end of June. Overall, Duane feels better than he did before, he's able to walk more without as much pain, he is able to sleep through part of the night, and he hasn't needed his nitroglycerin pills on a regular basis - sometimes going for a week without taking one. I also spoke with Arnie Minette, another resident of Paynesville, and Marvin Lensing from Belgrade. Both have completed the treatment and notice they have more energy than before and have also limited their use of nitroglycerin pills. Arnie admits he still has similar problems, but contributes some of that to the cold weather in April and not being able to walk as much outside as he would have liked to. If you feel you may be a candidate for the EECP treatment, please contact your physician and ask for more information. PAHCS is proud to offer the newest and best technology in medicine to you and your family.
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