Cardiomedics' Non-Invasive Device for Treating Severe Angina to be Reimbursed by Medicare.IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 1999-- Cardiomedics Inc. Monday reported that the Healthcare Finance Administration (HCFA HCFA abbr. Health Care Financing Administration HCFA, n.pr See Health Care Financing Administration. ), the U.S. government agency which administers the Federal Medicare Program for 38 million Americans, has announced its decision to expand its coverage of External Counterpulsation (ECP (Enhanced Capabilities Port) See IEEE 1284. 1. ECP - Engineering Change Proposal. 2. ECP - Enhanced Capabilities Port. 3. ECP - Extended Capabilities Port. 4. ECP - Extended Concurrent Prolog. ) therapy. This decision will provide reimbursement by Medicare for the use of Cardiomedics' non-invasive CardiAssist(TM) External Counterpulsation ("ECP") System in the treatment of persons with severe stable angina stable angina Cardiology Chest pain that may extend regionally due to ↓ myocardial blood flow Etiology CAD with stenosis, ↑ blood flow to heart–exercise, heavy meals, stress; other causes of angina include coronary artery spasm–Prinzmetal's , who have been refractive refractive capacity to refract light. refractive error a difference between the focal length of the cornea and lens, and the length of the eye, resulting in myopia or hyperopia. (unresponsive) to surgery and/or medical therapies. Severe angina, which results from blockages on one or more of the coronary arteries and causes debilitating de·bil·i·tat·ing adj. Causing a loss of strength or energy. Debilitating Weakening, or reducing the strength of. Mentioned in: Stress Reduction chest pain, affects an estimated seven million people in the United States. New Medicare payment codes for External Counterpulsation were recently announced by HCFA and will take effect on Jan. 1, 2000. Many insurance companies and prepaid health plans already cover the use of Cardiomedics' ECP System for the treatment of angina. Commenting on HCFA's action, William R. Schilt, president of Cardiomedics, said, "We are very pleased by HCFA's review of our data and their decision to provide Medicare coverage for the use of our CardiAssist(TM) ECP System, as many elderly angina patients could otherwise not afford the therapy." The CardiAssist(TM) External Counterpulsation System consists of a small, portable console and inflatable cuffs, which are fastened around the patient's calves, thighs and buttocks buttocks /but·tocks/ (but´oks) the two fleshy prominences formed by the gluteal muscles on the lower part of the back. . The cuffs are inflated, synchronized with the patient's electrocardiogram electrocardiogram /elec·tro·car·dio·gram/ (-kahr´de-o-gram?) a graphic tracing of the variations in electrical potential caused by the excitation of the heart muscle and detected at the body surface. , resulting in increased blood flow through the coronary arteries into the heart muscle, while also reducing the work effort of the heart. The therapy is completely non-invasive and is performed on an outpatient basis in a hospital's outpatient department or a doctor's office. No anesthesia is required. A typical angina patient will require 35 hours of CardiAssist(TM) ECP therapy, one hour per day, five days a week for seven weeks. |
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