Ejection fraction

Q . Can you explain exactly what "ejection fraction" means? And is there any way to increase it? A. Ejection fraction refers to the volume of blood that's pumped out of the heart's left ventricle each time it contracts. Contrary to what many people believe, a normal ejection fraction is not 100%. Even a healthy heart pumps out only about half to two-thirds of the volume of blood in the chamber in one heartbeat. So a normal ejection fraction lies somewhere in the range of 55% to 65%. Damage to the heart's muscle—from a heart attack, heart muscle disease (such as cardiomyopathy), or other causes—can lead to a lower ejection fraction. An ejection fraction of 40% or lower may signal heart failure, a condition in which the weakened heart struggles to circulate blood throughout the body. For some people with heart failure and a low ejection fraction, medications such as ACE inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers can improve or stabilize the ejection fraction. Exercise can also help by strengthening muscles in the arms and legs. Larger, more efficient muscles are better able to extract oxygen from circulating blood, which can compensate somewhat for the heart's decreased pumping ability. But be sure to check with your doctor before starting an exercise regimen. If possible, find a supervised cardiac rehabilitation program, which is the safest way for people with heart failure to start to exercise. — Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter As a service...

What is Ejection Fraction? Ejection fraction (EF) is a measurement of how much blood your heart pumps out when it beats. It helps your healthcare provider diagnose and keep track of heart failure. Your heart has4 chambers. The top 2 chambers are called the atria. They take blood in from the veins and lungs. The bottom2 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 leftventricle 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 or equal to 40% means the muscle is weakened and you may have heart failure. This is called heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. It may also be known as systolic 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. 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. Other types of heart failure include heart failure with mildly reduced EF (an EF of 41% to 49%) and heart failure with improved EF (p...

• Search American Heart Association Search" • • • Get Involved • • • • Find a Course • • • • • • Courses & Kits • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Training Programs • • • • • • • • • • • • • Resuscitation Science • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Resources • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • International • • • • • • • • • • • What is “ejection fraction”? Ejection fraction (EF) is a measurement, expressed as a percentage, of how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each contraction. An ejection fraction of 60 percent means that 60 percent of the total amount of blood in the left ventricle is pushed out with each heartbeat.A normal heart’s ejection fraction is between 55 and 70 percent. This indication of how well your heart is pumping out blood can help to diagnose and track It is important to note, however, that you can have a normal ejection fraction measurement and still have heart failure. This is called HFpEF or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. It happens when your heart’s muscle has become so thick and stiff that the ventricle holds a smaller than usual volume of blood. In this case, your heart might still have an ejection fraction that falls in the normal range because your heart is pumping out a normal percentage of the blood that enters it. However in HFpEF, the total amount of blood pumped isn’t enough to meet your body’s needs. What’s an unhealthy EF? An EF from 41 to 49 percent might be considered too low. It does not always indicate...

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. But knowing — and effectively managing — your Cardiologist J. Emanuel Finet, MD, says it straight: “Low ejection fraction is directly proportional to survival. By improving it, you improve your survival outlook.” Dr. Finet does the math on ejection fraction and gives seven ways to help you improve your heart’s pumping power. What is ejection fraction? The heart has two main muscular chambers: the left and the right ventricle. Each chamber has MVP status in the body, working together to perform jobs you literally couldn’t live without: • Right ventricle: Pumps blood to the lungs to get oxygenated. • Left ventricle: Pumps oxygenated blood throughout your body. A heart at rest holds a certain amount of blood. Ejection fraction refers to the percentage of that blood your heart pumps out with each beat. “Assuming a normal heart size and rate, when ejection fraction is normal, the heart is pumping a normal amount of blood,” Dr. Finet explains. “We can assume the blood is moving at a normal speed around the body.” But a low ejection fraction spells trouble. “Low ejection fraction means the ventricle is not contracting sufficiently to pump enough blood out of the heart,” he says. “If the ejection fraction is abnormal, that person has some degree of heart failure.” What’s normal ejection fraction? Doctors calculate...

Fraction of blood ejected from a ventricle of the heart with each heartbeat An ejection fraction ( EF) is the volumetric The EF of the left ventricular ejection fraction ( LVEF), is calculated by dividing the volume of blood pumped from the right ventricular ejection fraction ( RVEF), is a measure of the efficiency of pumping into the In heart failure, the difference between heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction, and heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction, is significant, because the two types are treated differently. Measurement [ ] Modalities applied to measurement of ejection fraction is an emerging field of medical mathematics and subsequent computational applications. The first common measurement method is Physiology [ ] Normal values [ ] In a healthy 70-kilogram (150lb) man, the stroke volume is approximately 70 mL, and the left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV) is approximately 120 mL, giving an estimated ejection fraction of 70⁄ 120, or 0.58 (58%). Healthy individuals typically have ejection fractions between 50% and 65%, Ventricular volumes • view • talk • edit Measure Right ventricle Left ventricle 144 mL (± 23 mL) 142 mL (± 21 mL) End-diastolic volume / body surface area (mL/m 2) 78 mL/m 2 (± 11 mL/m 2) 78 mL/m 2 (± 8.8 mL/m 2) 50 mL (± 14 mL) 47 mL (± 10 mL) End-systolic volume / body surface area (mL/m 2) 27 mL/m 2 (± 7 mL/m 2) 26 mL/m 2 (± 5.1 mL/m 2) 94 mL (± 15 mL) 95 mL (± 14 mL) Stroke volume / body surface area (mL/m 2) 51 mL/m 2 ...

Systolic heart failure is a specific type of heart failure that occurs in the heart’s left ventricle. The left and right ventricles are the bottom chambers of the heart. In a person with systolic heart failure, the heart is weak, and the left ventricle can’t contract (squeeze) normally when the heart beats. This weakness means less blood circulates throughout the body. When your heart can’t supply enough oxygenated blood to the rest of the body, you can experience symptoms and complications. Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction Systolic heart failure is also called heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (orHFrEF). Ejection fraction is the percentage of blood the left ventricle pumps out with every beat. A normal, healthy ejection fraction is 55% to 65%. If it’s higher or lower, that can indicate a heart problem. Withsystolic heart failure,the ejection fraction is usually less than 50%. Causes of Systolic Heart Failure Systolic heart failure is usually caused by another cardiovascular condition that weakens the heart muscle. For example: • Aortic stenosis,a narrowing of the valve in the large blood vessel that branches off the heart (the aorta) • Arrhythmia ,an irregular heart rhythm • Cardiomyopathy ,any condition affecting the heart muscle • Coronary artery disease ,narrowing of the blood vessels that bring blood to the heart • Heart attack ,which occurs when the heart doesn’t get enough blood • High blood pressure (hypertension) ,the force of blood pushing ...