Medical
What is Ejection Fraction and What Does it Tell You About Your Heart?
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 through the body. The heart is divided into two sides, the right side and the left side. The right side of the heart pumps blood through the lungs. The left side of the heart pumps blood through the rest of the body. Heart valves keep the blood moving in the right direction through the heart. In a healthy heart, both sides of the heart work fine.
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 prescribe therapies that have been shown to improve your EF.
Next Steps:
- Read Jim Hoag’s Journey to Heart Recovery: Learn How a Protected PCI Procedure Improved His Ejection Fraction
- Learn more about complex heart disease and advanced heart failure.
- Find out how you can talk with your cardiologist and discover if Protected PCI is right for you.
- Watch our patient stories to learn how Protected PCI with Impella® has helped qualified heart patients.
As with any medical treatment, individual results may vary. Only a physician can determine whether Impella is an appropriate course of treatment. There are potential risks including acute renal dysfunction, Aortic valve injury, Bleeding, Cardiogenic shock, Cerebral vascular accident/Stroke, Death, Hemolysis, Limb ischemia, Myocardial infarction, Renal failure, Thrombocytopenia and Cardiac or Vascular injury (including ventricular perforation). These risks need to be discussed with your doctor and recovery takes time. The success of this procedure depends on many factors, including your physical condition and your body’s ability to tolerate the procedure. Use care in the selection of your doctors and hospital, based on their skill and experience.
As with any medical treatment, individual results may vary. Only a physician can determine whether Impella is an appropriate course of treatment. The potential adverse effects (e.g., complications) associated with the use of the Impella RP System, Impella RP with SmartAssist and Impella RP Flex with SmartAssist: Arrhythmia, Atrial fibrillation, Bleeding, Cardiac tamponade, Cardiogenic shock, Death, Device malfunction, Hemolysis, Hepatic failure, Insertion site infection, Phlegmasia cerulea dolens (a severe form of deep venous thrombosis), Pulmonary valve insufficiency, Respiratory dysfunction, Sepsis, Thrombocytopenia, Thrombotic vascular (non-central nervous system) complication, Tricuspid valve injury, Cardiac or Vascular injury (including ventricular perforation), Venous thrombosis, Ventricular fibrillation and/or tachycardia. These risks need to be discussed with your doctor and recovery takes time. The success of this procedure depends on many factors, including your physical condition and your body’s ability to tolerate the procedure. Use care in the selection of your doctors and hospital, based on their skill and experience.
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