Connie Crews is a part time nurse. While working, she realized something wasn't right with her heart.
"I noticed what I thought was heart burn, with the burning," Crews described.
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It was microvascular angina, or MVA. It's an early form of coronary heart disease that occurs when arteries narrow and the heart doesn't get enough oxygen-rich blood.
Cardiologist Dr. Ken Kronhaus says people with it, have few options.
"The vessels are too tiny to put a stent in, the medications work much less than half the time,"explains Kronhaus.
To treat it, Kronhaus is using a non-invasive treatment for heart patients, recently cleared by the FDA. It's called Enhanced External Counterpulsation or EECP.
"It milks the blood in the arteries and veins in the legs and increases the blood flow to the heart," says Kronhaus. "Without any needles, cutting or added medication."
For seven weeks, patients lie on a bed for 35 one-hour sessions. Blood pressure cuffs infated with air are wrapped around each leg. They contract and expand with each heart beat, helping develop better circulation.
According to the Mayo Clinic, it's been proven to work in 75 to 80 percent of patients with angina symptoms. Kronhaus says the therapy could one day replace life-long heart drugs.
Kronhaus says MVA is most commonly seen in women who are transitioning to menopause, but it can also affect men.
The EECP treatment can cost up to $6,000 but is usually covered by insurance.