Re: Ejection Fraction

Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - DLB on September 10, 1998 at 17:31:20:

In Reply to: Ejection Fraction posted by James on September 10, 1998 at 16:11:47:






After a Myocardial Infraction on Nov. 20, 1997, I had a caherization on 11-27-97 that showed a 40% ejection fraction. On 12-4-97 I had a Stress Cardiolite test that showed
I had a 29% ejection fraction. On 2-6-98 I had Angioplasty . On 8-18-98 I had an echogram that showed I had an ejection fraction of 40%. After the heart attack I
was told 40% of my heart muscle was dead. I had 100% blockage of the LAD and
99% of the D1. The Angioplasty was done because they thought there was some
hibernating tissue and they were succesful in the surgery. Now they want to do a muger scan to check my heart function again. MY QUESTION IS  what is my ejection fraction 40% or 29% ,do I need another heart function test, and how do they determine how much heart muscle is dead. Thank You, James
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Dear James
It sounds like your doctors are planning to do a MUGA scan, which will provide a number for your ejection fraction (EF). Normal is around 65% (not 100%). Echo, cath and nuclear stress tests (cardiolite, MUGA) all give an estimate of the ejection fraction -all are ballpark figures, not precise measurements. Therefore, I would say your ejection fraction is somewhere between 29 and 40 percent. Whether it is 29 or 35 or 40 would not affect how I would manage you medically. I would treat you the same regardless of your exact EF - same medicines, same tests, etc.
These tests all determine which parts of the heart muscle are dead by seeing which parts do not contract.
I hope this is useful. Feel free to write back. I wish you the best of luck.
If you would like to set up an appointment with one of our cardiologists here at the Cleveland Clinic please feel free to call 1-800-CCF-CARE.
Information provided in the Heart Forum is intended for general medical informational purposes only. Actual diagnosis and treatment of any particular medical condition can only be made by your physician(s).