Long COVID Treatment For Shortness Of Breath

woman running with no shortness of breath
Written by: Jennifer

Everyone recovers from COVID-19 differently. Unfortunately, certain individuals experience Long COVID and require individualized treatment options for Long COVID. 

Globally, an estimated 50% of COVID-19 patients experience lingering symptoms six months after the acute phase of COVID-19 infection, with the long-term symptoms varying in severity.

American College of Cardiology

Long COVID symptoms can be varied (and in some cases, very serious). This being said, if you are going through Long COVID, it’s important to do your research and find a treatment plan that’s right for you and your specific symptoms.

While there aren’t very many Long COVID treatment options available as of now, EECP Therapy has been shown to help relieve Long COVID symptoms such as shortness of breath and chest pain.

Let’s dig a little deeper into EECP Therapy.

What is EECP Therapy?

EECP Therapy, otherwise known as Flow Therapy, is a non-invasive and effective treatment option for people suffering from chronic heart conditions, fatigue, shortness of breath, and coronary artery disease.

With Flow Therapy, there are no pills, shots, or surgeries involved. It’s a simple, outpatient procedure involving the patient, compression cuffs, and an EKG machine. 

During treatment, the patient lays down on a table and EECP compression cuffs are wrapped around his or her calves, thighs, and lower hips. With the assistance of an EKG machine, the inflation and deflation of the cuffs is regulated with the rhythm of the heart.

Why does EECP Therapy work?

While there’s a lot that goes into the science of EECP Therapy and why it works, here’s the simple explanation:

EECP Therapy imitates the benefits of passive exercise without straining the heart. This leads to improved circulation, increased cardiac capacity, reductions in joint pain, reduced shortness of breath, and increased stamina. 

In a nutshell, EECP leverages advanced counter pulsation technology to increase the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart – which results in the widening and creation of new, small blood vessels in the heart. 

If you’re wondering, why not just exercise? This isn’t always possible for certain individuals who suffer from chronic or long-term conditions (especially when it comes to Long COVID).

Resuming physical activity after having COVID-19 has an extra layer of complexity because of the potential of complications, such as myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), for those individuals known as long haulers, who experience prolonged symptoms of the virus.

Michael Fredericson, MD via Everyday Health

EECP Therapy helps get individuals to the point where they can finally start to move around, take walks, and exercise once again – without shortness of breath, unmanageable chest pain, or unnecessary heart strain.

How does EECP Therapy reduce Long COVID symptoms?

For the last few decades, EECP Therapy has worked to help reduce symptoms associated with chronic heart disease, as well as fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain. For many people who have Long COVID, these are the exact same symptoms they are experiencing for months after the initial COVID-19 infection.

In other words, EECP Therapy is the ideal treatment option.

Results from EECP Therapy for Long COVID include:

  • Chest pain symptoms improved in 97% of patients
  • Fatigue improved in 88% of patients
  • Walking distance improved in 83% of patients by 163 feet
  • Breathing difficulty improved in 63% of patients

Emerging data shows that long COVID is a disease that impacts the health of vessels, also known as endothelial function. 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.

Sachin A. Shah, PharmD, Chief Scientific Officer at Flow Therapy

American College of Cardiology

Related Content: Check out the 5 most common Long Covid symptoms

Want to learn more about this Long COVID treatment option?

At Flow Therapy, we work with patients from all walks of life, who are suffering from a variety of issues affecting their day-to-day lives, and we’d love to work with you, too! If you think you’re suffering from Long COVID symptoms and would like to know if you’re a candidate for Flow Therapy, take our online Long COVID assessment.

If you’d like more information on EECP Therapy for Long COVID treatment, give us a call at 1-888-678-FLOW or find a Flow Therapy closest to you.


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