The Honest Math
A standard 35-session course at a clinic, billed cash, generally runs $5,000–$8,000. Insurance-covered courses cost the patient little to nothing out of pocket but only cover FDA-cleared cardiac indications.
The math only makes sense if any of the following are true:
- You want ongoing maintenance treatment beyond the standard 35 sessions, and no provider near you offers it.
- You are pursuing an off-label indication (Long COVID, neuropathy, cognitive, longevity) that insurance will not cover and your local providers will not offer.
- The nearest provider is far enough away that 35 round trips is genuinely impractical.
- You have a household member who would also benefit, doubling the value of the machine.
- You are a clinician or wellness operator considering offering EECP as a service.
If none of the above apply, the answer is almost always no — find a provider on this directory and let them deliver the treatment.
What I Actually Considered Before Buying
Five factors that determined whether the purchase made sense.
1The Machine Itself
There are essentially three categories of equipment in the U.S. market:
The single most important specification is squeeze pressure — the maximum cuff pressure the system can deliver. Clinical outcomes correlate with pressure. A machine that tops out at 220 mmHg will not produce the same results as one that delivers 280–300 mmHg. Ask the seller for the documented pressure ceiling before you wire money.
2Used vs. New
Used systems dominate the private-buyer market. The risk is not the machine itself — these are mechanically straightforward devices — it's parts availability and service. Before buying used, confirm:
- ✓The manufacturer still services the platform (or that an independent technician does).
- ✓Cuffs, bladders, and hoses are still available and reasonably priced (cuffs wear out and are the most common consumable).
- ✓The ECG and finger pulse oximetry sensors are included and functional.
- ✓The seller can demonstrate the machine running through a full session.
3Where You'll Actually Run It
EECP machines are larger than most people picture. You will need a dedicated room with:
- →A sturdy treatment table or padded surface (the machine includes one or you'll need to source one)
- →Adequate floor space for the compressor unit (it's loud)
- →Ideally a separate space from where anyone else is sleeping or working — sessions are an hour and the rhythmic compression is audible
4Who's Going to Operate It
This is the part most buyers underestimate. EECP is not "press start and lie down." Cuff placement matters. Waveform optimization matters. Reading whether your diastolic augmentation is actually occurring matters. If you have a partner, they can be trained — but someone has to learn it.
The operational side is covered in detail in the EECP Technician Course, which was built for exactly this gap — owners, partners, and clinicians who need to run the machine correctly.
5Medical Oversight
You should have a cardiologist or internist who knows you are doing this and has cleared you for it. EECP has real contraindications — severe aortic insufficiency, uncontrolled hypertension, certain valve disease, active DVT, recent cardiac catheterization.
A buyer who skips this step is not being brave; they are being foolish.
What I'd Tell My 47-Year-Old Self
Buy the machine if you've already decided you want EECP as an ongoing part of your life — not as a one-time treatment course. The economics only work over years, not weeks.
If you're not sure, do a 35-session course at a clinic first. If you finish those 35 sessions and find yourself wishing you could keep going, that's your answer. If you finish and feel done, you saved yourself $20,000.
— Jack Clifford, author of EECP: The Most Underutilized Therapy in Medicine
What I Will Not Do
I will not broker machine sales. I will not refer you to a specific seller in exchange for anything.
I will, on request, tell you what I actually own, what I'd buy if I were starting over today, and which questions to ask any vendor before you transfer funds.
Email me a question — no fee →