Patent ID: 8128550

Claim:
A method for treating a patient exhibiting left ventricular dysfunction and having a left ventricular ejection fraction of at least 15 percent, which comprises applying, during diastole, for a daily time period of about one-hour, for at least five days each week for at least six weeks, an incrementally increasing external therapeutic pressure using a plurality of cuffs, sequentially to the lower extremities of the patient, beginning with at least one one-hour treatment at a D/S Ratio in the range of about 0.4:1 up to about 0.9:1, followed by at least three one-hour treatments at a D/S Ratio in the range of about 0.5:1 up to about 1:1, and applying the remaining one-hour treatments at a D/S Ratio in the range of about 0.6:1 up to about 1.3:1, until a total of at least 35 one-hour treatments have been delivered.