About P-CCCOC
The Post-COVID Cardiovascular Center of Orange County (P-CCCOC) was created in response to the emergent need for solutions aimed at restoring quality of life to patients suffering from post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), more commonly known as "long COVID."
OUR MISSION
Cardiovascular Implications of Long COVID
"Long COVID" is a blanket term applied to new or persistent symptoms in patients who have recovered from the acute infection phase of COVID-19. Over 200 symptoms have been identified in patients suffering from long COVID, rendering the condition difficult to properly diagnose and treat. While some long COVID symptoms appear relatively infrequently, others, including shortness of breath, fatigue, and cognitive impairment (or "brain fog") are implicated in a large number of cases.
​
Cardiovascular issues are also among the most common long COVID symptoms. Recent studies have shown cardiac involvement in up to 78% of long COVID cases, with ongoing myocardial inflammation in a high volume of patients.
Treating the Root Causes of Long COVID
At present, long COVID treatment programs are commonly multidisciplinary in nature, meaning a patient's symptoms are assessed, and the patient is then referred to various specialists who generally prescribe medications to relieve their symptoms. At P-CCCOC, we take a very different approach. In lieu of prescribing a cocktail of medications aimed at treating each symptom individually, we harness the unique power of Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP), a treatment clinically proven to have beneficial effects on multiple organ systems.
​
While the precise mechanism(s) of action of EECP are highly complex and not fully understood, the treatment has a clinically-proven record of relieving shortness of breath, increasing exercise tolerance, reducing inflammation, and improving dysautonomia—all commonly documented symptoms of long COVID.
A Data-Driven Approach To Long COVID Treatment
The P-CCCOC Difference
P-CCCOC was created to address a growing global problem. The COVID-19 pandemic is now more than two years into its lifecycle, and we are beginning to see a large number of COVID survivors who continue to suffer from lingering or even new COVID symptoms long after their initial infection.
Because long COVID is a new phenomenon, there are no specific guidelines for treating patients suffering from the condition. Furthermore, there are over 200 symptoms associated with long COVID, making it very difficult to develop treatment protocols. Doctors must examine and treat each patient on a case-by-case basis, based on the patient’s unique combination of symptoms. This can result in patients who were healthy before becoming infected with COVID finding themselves on several different medications aimed at treating individual symptoms months or even years later.
The P-CCCOC approach to long COVID treatment is different. In lieu of prescribing multiple medications to treat our patients’ symptoms, we use EECP therapy, which is proven in clinical trials to be effective in treating some long COVID symptoms, and is expected to be effective in treating several other symptoms that have not yet been tested.