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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
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Heart Failure |
Understanding an Ejection Fraction01/07/2009 |
Does a poor ejection fraction on 2D echo suggest any cardiac ailment ?What is the signigicance of ejection fraction in 2D Echo. Can you educate us on this point. My brother in law has and ejection fraction of 25% and doctor says he could develop a life threatening condition like LVF any time? Can an ejection fraction be improved?
Is there any relation between and EF HBP and Cardiac problem ?
The ejection fraction (EF) is a measure of how much blood the left ventricle of the heart is able to pump. A decreased EF is an indication of chronic heart failure. A normal EF is 40% or more.
The EF fraction is an excellent way of diagnosing heart failure, but it does not correlate very well with symptoms. Some patients with an EF of 25% have a lot of shortness of breath and decreased exercise tolerance, while others have only minimal problems.
The function of the left ventricle and the EF can be improved with a combination of exercise and medication. The standard treatment for chronic heart failure is ACE inhibitors (a type of blood pressure medication), beta blockers and angiotensin receptor blockers. Diuretics and digoxin can also help improve a patient's symptoms.
Hypertension can cause left ventricular strain, enlargement and ultimately heart failure (decreased EF). Any patient with chronic heart failure needs good blood pressure control, medication and an exercise program. The prognosis depends a lot on other factors, such as the presence r absence of diabetes or kidney disease, and on the remaining exercise capacity of the heart. With good therapy, the EF can often be improved.
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Max C. Reif, MD Director, Hypertension Section Division of Nephrology & Hypertension Department of Internal Medicine College of Medicine University of Cincinnati |
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