What does a heart ejection fraction of 20% mean?

An EF of 20% is about one-third of the normal ejection fraction. This means 80% of the blood stays in the ventricle. 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.

What is a normal EF percentage?

It pumps oxygen-rich blood up into your body’s main artery (aorta) to the rest of the body. A normal ejection fraction is about 50% to 75%, according to the American Heart Association. A borderline ejection fraction can range between 41% and 50%.

What is low normal EF?

Generally, a normal range for ejection fraction is between 55% and 70%. Low ejection fraction, sometimes called low EF, is when your ejection fraction falls below 55%. It means your heart isn’t functioning as well as it should. Your doctor will want to thoroughly check you for a heart condition to find the cause.

What does EF 25% mean?

If you have an EF of less than 35%, you have a greater risk of life-threatening irregular heartbeats that can cause sudden cardiac arrest/death. If your EF is below 35%, your doctor may talk to you about treatment with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Can you live with 20% ejection fraction?

Conclusion: Three year survival is low when ejection fraction is very low. However, once the ejection fraction is < or =20% ejection fraction is no longer a predictor of mortality.

How long can a person live with a low ejection fraction?

Patients with an ejection fraction of under 40% may be at greater risk of dying from CHF. However, a 2017 study reported that 5-year life expectancy was poor among all patients admitted to hospital with heart failure regardless of ejection fraction, and estimated 5-year mortality to be 75.4%.

Can you live with an ejection fraction of 20?

Can low EF be reversed?

Treatment with some combination of ACE inhibitor or ARB, beta blocker, BiDil (nitrate and hydralazine), or aldosterone inhibitor is generally effective in slowing or reversing the ventricular remodeling that accounts for the low EF.

Can EF be improved?

Keeping tabs on it not only helps your doctor treat you more effectively but also leads to better outcomes. Cardiologist J. Emanuel Finet, MD, says it straight: “Low ejection fraction is directly proportional to survival. By improving it, you improve your survival outlook.”

Can low EF be improved?

How long can you live with low EF?