ejection factor

How does one get their EF tested? Are their any signs, or home tests that can be done to estimate this? Do healthy people have an EF of 100%? How low can your EF go without you noticing a problem?

Normal ejection fraction is from 50-70%, which characterizes the percentage of blood pumped out of the left ventricle per beat.
Below 35 to 40% people can begin to have clinical symptoms of heart failure and below 35%, the risk for arrhythmia,usually ventricular arrhythmia is higher.

Curt - The EF is indicated when you have an electrocardiogram.

Jackie

An in-deoth article Ejection fraction: [en.wikipedia.org]

Excerpt:

Measurement

Ejection fraction is commonly measured by echocardiography, in which the volumes of the heart's chambers are measured during the cardiac cycle. Ejection fraction can then be obtained by dividing stroke volume by end-diastolic volume as described above.

Accurate volumetric measurement of performance of the right and left ventricles of the heart is inexpensively and routinely echocardiographically interpreted worldwide as a ratio of Dimension between the ventricles in Systole and Diastole. For example, a ventricle in greatest dimension could measure 6cm while in least dimension 4cm. Measured and easily reproduced beat to beat for ten or more cycles, this ratio may represent a physiologically normal EF of 60%. Mathematical expression of this ratio can then be interpreted as the greater half as Cardiac Output and the lesser half as Cardiac input.

Other methods of measuring ejection fraction include cardiac MRI, fast scan cardiac computed axial tomography (CT) imaging, ventriculography, Gated SPECT, and the MUGA scan. A MUGA scan involves the injection of a radioisotope into the blood and detecting its flow through the left ventricle. The historical gold standard for the measurement of ejection fraction is ventriculography.

Correction - Jackie meant to say "Curt - The EF is indicated when you have an echocardiogram."

A couple of references you might like to read:

[www.webmd.com]

[www.medhelp.org]


George

are there any specific symptoms you would feel if it were getting low, besides the obvious dizzyness etc. i have a near constant low grade ache. i guess i better go see my cardoilogist and have it checked out. i had pretty much biven up on any medical solution, short of ablation. if the debate between rythm vs rate control have equall effectiveness, and my rate is under control with no meds, and i have chad2 of 0, with the suggested course of action is no anticoagulants, then no treatment at all would seem to be the logical treatment.

[www.barnesjewish.org]

Hi Curt,

Two of the several types of CHF are:

1.) Systolic Heart Failure: In this type, the heart’s ability to contract decreases leading to backing up of blood coming from the lungs causing the fluid to leak into the lungs. This condition is called pulmonary congestion.

2.) Diastolic Heart Failure: In this type, the heart cannot relax properly due to stiffening of the heart’s muscle leading to improper filling of the heart with blood. This condition may lead to fluid accumulation in the feet, ankles, legs and sometimes the lungs.

The Ejection Fraction (EF) measured by echocardiogram is related to the first type of CHF (systolic). For years I had a "normal" EF, and wondered why I had all of the symptoms of CHF - difficulty breathing (particularly in a prone position); dry cough (particularly in the morning); exercise intolerance; fatigue; swelling of the ankles (at day's end); etc.

Finally, a cardiologist did a blood test called "BNP", which is related to the second type of CHF (diastolic), and discovered that my reading was in a range that suggested possible diastolic CHF, caused by untreated A-fib.

You may want to have your doc order a BNP test. And, be sure to control your heart rate if it's normally over 100 BPM.

Good luck.

John