Why is my ejection fraction low

Warning Signs of Heart Failure. Diagnosing Heart Failure. Treatment Options. Tools and Resources. Heart Failure Personal Stories. Talk with your healthcare provider about improving your EF. Before you decide on your next steps, first discuss the following questions with your healthcare provider: What is my EF? Why is my EF low and how does it affect my health?

Which lifestyle changes or medications are likely to help me? Is there anything I should avoid? If I track my heart failure symptoms, how might that help improve my outcome? When should I plan to retest my EF? Treat any known causes of heart failure.

Get the right amount of physical activity. Here are some exercise tips to keep in mind. Consider a cardiac rehab program. It offers some unique benefits, and you may even be able to join a supervised home-based exercise program. Talk to your healthcare provider to see if you qualify. Explore our cardiac rehab resources. Work toward minutes of cardio.

Most HF exercise programs focus on improving your ability to sustain aerobic activity. Explore strength training. Studies show that some people living with HF benefit from resistance or weight training, which also may contribute to an improved EF. Be sure to talk with your healthcare provider before starting and go easy on yourself at first. Start with walking. Your provider may do a 6-minute walk test to help measure your improvements over time.

You simply start by seeing how far you can walk in one six minute session. Begin and end with a warm-up and cool down. If you use a fitness tracker or heart rate monitor, you may benefit from setting heart rate zones with your healthcare provider. Symptoms may include fatigue and shortness of breath during exercise.

HFpEF can be the result of aging, diabetes, or high blood pressure. As we age, our hearts do too. Heart walls thicken and lose some of their capacity to contract and relax as efficiently as they should.

A high ejection fraction reading can indicate a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This condition abnormally thickens parts of your heart muscle without an obvious cause. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is often genetic. For a small number of people, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can cause serious abnormal heart rhythms arrhythmias that require treatment. If you have a family history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, let your doctor know so they can monitor you over time. There are a variety of treatment options for abnormal ejection fraction.

Some of the most common treatments include:. Ejection fraction is a test your doctor can use to determine the percentage of blood that leaves a ventricle each time your heart beats, and to understand how well your heart works. A normal ejection fraction range is between 52 and 72 percent for men and between 54 and 74 percent for women.

In general, the outlook for people with an abnormal ejection fraction result is encouraging. In most cases, with diligent care, the right treatment and medications, and certain lifestyle changes, you can manage your symptoms and continue living a high-quality life. Did you know you could have a heart attack without feeling any chest pain? Heart attacks can produce a number of different signs and sensations….

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Removing plaque from your arteries is difficult, and not something you can do at home. Instead, focus on things you can do to prevent plaque from…. Nuclear heart scan: This safe scan reveals how efficiently blood is flowing through your heart.

A small amount of radioactive material is injected into a vein and flows to the heart. It releases energy that allows special cameras to capture pictures of the coronary arteries and heart function. Prevention While most cases of low EF cannot be directly prevented, there are ways to reduce your chances of developing a heart condition that leads to it.

Follow these prevention tips to help lower your risk of developing low EF: Practice good heart health : Watch what you eat, exercise as advised by your physician , and avoid smoking, heavy alcohol use and drug abuse. Take your medications as prescribed : If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, be certain to take your prescribed medications as directed.

Prognosis Low ejection fraction can be effectively treated when the heart condition causing it is treated. Low Ejection Fraction Treatment If you have a low ejection fraction, your physician may recommend the following treatment options to help improve low EF: Biventricular Pacemaker This special implanted pacemaker can help the lower chambers of the heart muscle pump together and improve cardiac function, leading to an increased heart EF.

Healthy Lifestyle Changes Getting the appropriate amount and intensity of exercise, losing weight, quitting smoking, reducing salt or excess fluids, and eating a healthier diet are some of the recommendations for improving low EF. Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator ICD This device, implanted in the chest, sends small electrical pulses to the heart to reestablish a healthy rhythm and manage low EF.