Show Before seeing your cardiologist, your doctor will schedule you for an echocardiogram of your heart. One piece of information your cardiologist can learn from the results of the echocardiogram is whether your ejection fraction (EF) is low. Let’s explain what this means:The heart is a muscle that pumps blood to the rest of your body. The heart has four chambers. The two upper, smaller chambers are called the right and left atria (singular: atrium). Beneath the atria, the two larger chambers are called the right and left ventricles. Blood from your body comes into the right atria and is pumped through the right ventricle and through your lungs to be oxygenated. Blood returning from your lungs enters the left atrium and then the left ventricle. The left ventricle then pumps blood to the rest of your body. The percentage of blood that leaves the left ventricle during a contraction is called the ejection fraction. The echocardiogram is one way to measure ejection fraction. A normal heart’s ejection fraction is typically between 55 and 70%. What Does a Low EF Mean?Your ejection fraction tells the doctor how well your left ventricle is pumping. A low EF indicates the heart muscle is having trouble pumping blood, which can happen for a number of reasons. Your cardiologist wants to know this information in order to give you the best possible treatment. Your cardiologist may be able to change the ejection fraction as there are certain therapies which may help to improve a low EF. Next Steps:
Is Impella Right for Me?Answer a few questions to see if you may be a candidate. The Protected PCI community is now on HeartRecovery.com Providing education and training to help health care professionals Ejection fraction (EF) is a measurement of how much blood your heart pumps out when it beats. It helps your doctor diagnose and monitor of heart failure. Your heart has 4 chambers. The top 2 chambers are called the atria. They take blood in from the veins and lungs. The bottom 2 are called ventricles. They are the pumping chambers of the heart. When your heart beats, the right ventricle pumps blood to your lungs. The left ventricle pumps blood to the brain, heart arteries, and the rest of your body. The EF is the percentage of blood that is pumped out of the left ventricle with each heartbeat. Even in a healthy heart, some blood stays behind in the ventricles. EFs between 50% and 70% are considered normal for the left ventricle. An EF under 40% means the muscle is weakened and you may have heart failure. In heart failure, the EF number can become very low. An EF of 20% is about one-third of the normal ejection fraction. This means 80% of the blood stays in the ventricle. The heart is not pumping all the oxygen-rich blood the body needs. The blood that is not ejected from the ventricle can back up into the lungs and cause shortness of breath. Over time, this can lead to fluid buildup and swelling (edema) in the belly (abdomen) and legs. Heart failure with reduced EF is also known as systolic heart failure. Another type of heart failure is known as diastolic heart failure. Some people have a normal ejection fraction but the heart muscle becomes stiff. It doesn’t relax normally between contractions. This leads to increased filling pressures within the heart. EF is often in the normal range. This can lead to fluid build up in the lungs or other parts of the body. This type of heart failure is also called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Doctors can use an echocardiogram or other tests to measure EF and see how well your heart is working. The other tests include cardiac MRI, cardiac CT, cardiac catheterization, and nuclear imaging. EF is very important. It's one of the most common methods of reporting overall heart function. But it's important to note that some people have heart failure symptoms despite a normal EF. Also, although a low EF is never normal, with treatment some people can lead a fairly normal, active life despite a lower EF. If the EF drops too low and doesn't respond to treatment, you may need special devices and medicines until another treatment can be done. A heart transplant may also be considered for very severe and refractory heart failure. What EF is heart failure?An ejection fraction below 40 percent means your heart isn't pumping enough blood and may be failing. A low ejection fraction number can be an indicator of heart failure and may not have symptoms at first but can lead to a variety of symptoms, including: Shortness of breath. Fatigue.
What is abnormal EF?Moderately Abnormal. 30% to 40% Severely Abnormal. Below 30%
What is the lowest ejection fraction you can live with?If your ejection fraction is 35% or below, you're at high risk of developing a dangerous arrythmia or even heart failure.
What does a low EF indicate?A low ejection fraction (or low EF) is typically 45 or less and can be evidence of heart failure or cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscle). The heart's ejection fraction (EF) refers to the amount – or percentage – of blood pumped (or ejected) out of the heart's left ventricle with each contraction.
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What does ef mean for your heart
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