ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MIDrug free treatment for chest pain

(01/31/12) - Heart attacks are not the only cause of chest pain. In fact, there is a very painful condition, called angina, that affects more than 9 million Americans. Now there is a simple therapy showing real promise.

Connie Crews first noticed the pain working her part time job as a nurse. "I noticed what I thought was heart burn."

It was micro vascular angina, or MVA, an early form of coronary heart disease that occurs when arteries narrow and the heart does not get enough oxygen rich blood.

Cardiologist, Dr. Ken Kronhaus says people with it have few options. "The vessels are too tiny to put a stent in, the medications work much less than half the time."

To treat it, Dr. Kronhaus is using a non-invasive treatment for heart patients that was recently cleared by the FDA. It is called enhanced external counter pulsation or EECP.

"It milks the blood in the arteries and veins in the legs and increases the blood flow to the heart," Dr. Kronhaus said.

For seven weeks, patients lie on a specially fitted bed, for 35 one hour sessions. Blood pressure cuffs inflated with air are wrapped around each leg. The cuffs contract and expand with each heart beat, helping develop better circulation.

"Without any needles, cutting or added medication," Dr. Kronhaus adds.

According to the Mayo Clinic, it's been proven to work in 75 to 80 percent of patients with angina symptoms. Dr. Kronhaus says the therapy could one day replace life-long heart drugs.

"I continue to feel better, to have more stamina and just have a better sense of well-being," Connie said.

Dr. Kronhaus says MVA is most commonly seen in women who are transitioning to menopause, but it can also affect men. The EECP treatment can cost up to six thousand dollars. It is usually covered by insurance.