Extracorporeal Shockwave Myocardial Revascularization (ESMR) is a non-invasive therapy for cardiac patients that aims to increase blood supply to the heart muscle. ESMR is performed when the myocardial ischemic area can no longer be accessed using conventional revascularization methods such as bypass surgery, balloon angioplasty, and stents.
Guided by Echocardiography and ECG monitoring, the device will be placed over your chest, on top of the treated area of the heart, where it will deliver mild shockwaves to the area that requires revascularization. The applied shock wave accelerates the healing process, stimulates vasodilation (dilation of the blood vessels), and induces revascularization (the process of forming blood vessels). This results in significant increase of cardiac circulation, leading to symptoms improvement with no side effects and proven outcomes.
Some of the outcomes of ESMR therapy include:
- Ability to walk farther without chest pain
- Angina or chest pain is reduced or even disappeared
- Fast pain relief
- Reduced the amount of medications taken to treat chest pain
- Patients can be more energetic and return to their activity to a certain degree
The ESMR procedure generally takes 20 to 30 minutes, usually around 9 times over 9 weeks. During the procedure, it is normal to feel some vibrations around the treated area and hear some noise coming from the device.