lvef of 15%

[lkshkm]

My son is twenty years old and has just been told he is in heart failure is lvef is 15% what kind of future does he have will he be able to work again he is told his heart is very large and has an irregular heart beat every other time please help me sort all this out

[grendslori]

I'm sure you must be worried sick about all of this; not getting much sleep either. When my daughter was 22 she had a heart transplant; she is now in chronic heart failure. Her EF% have been at 15% and she still works part time. She also is involved with our kennel and while it is not always easy, she will at times, show dogs in the ring. Our transplant team has told us that when judging if a patient is in heart failure, they consider three things: Kidney function, lung function and heart function, not just the EF%; in fact, that is really the last thing they really consider because it is so variable. Just how well a person is hydrated, can alter the EF%s. Heart failure is not just about one thing; it is a cumulative  thing involving heart, lung and kidney. EF%s can certainly improve as Ken has said, medicines can do a lot these days. Many people are still leading fairly normal lives with EF% of 15; many don't even know they have heart disease. Your son's future, is your son's future; no one can really answer that question for you. His attitude and his will to live and have a full life plays a HUGE part in how well he will do. I was told to take my little girl home and spoil her and let her enjoy what childhood she had left; if she lived through her childhood, she would be in heart failure by the time she was 12. I'm glad I did not spoil her; she did go into HF (the opposite type from your son) at 12 and her teen years were not good, at 22 she was dying and she received a new heart. On July 4th we received her call for that heart and that was 12 years ago. She has always had a "I'm going to do this" attitude and that has always sustained her. My best friend received a HIV infected transfusion and was told she had 18 months to live; that was back in 1984 and considering I just talked to her the other day.....she is certainly not dead!! (she has also been diagnosed with full blown AIDS on 4 different occasions and she has improved even with that!) What I am trying to tell you is that NO doctor can give you a true prognosis of life span and the patients attitude to his disease process plays a HUGE part in how well he will do and that includes how well he will be able to do the things he likes to do, such as working. Take care    

[kenkeith]

Heart failure is classified as a heart that is not pumping enough blood to meet the blood/oxygen demand of he system and is usually represented by 29% and lower.  The percentage is the amount of blood pumped with each heartbeat. And the underlying cause is related to the heartwall's inability to contract with enough force to be effective.

An enlarged left ventricle will reduce contractions so the prognostification will depend on the cause fo the enlarged heart.  Irregular beats can also be caused by an enlarged heart.
About 7 years ago I had an enlarged heart and my EF was in the heart failure range. The underlying cause was a low blood supply to heart cells and with medication and a stent blood supply to the heart cells invigorated the oxygen deficit heart cells and began to effectively pump.  Currently, my heart is normal size and the EF is 59%.  

There can be  several causes for the heart problem and that could be heart muscle disease such as virus, bacteria, drugs, medication, alcohol, etc. Those conditions may not be effectively treated to restore the heart to normal, but treatment can improve the heart's pumping ability and prevent further progression.  

There are many heart patients that do well with the EF in the 30's and 40's.  Your son's EF at 15% is not a constant parameter but varies as does the heartbeat so don't believe the low EF is a constant. Yes, he will be to able to work, but may be limited from any vigorous activities and easily tire....worst case scenario.

Thanks for sharing and if you have any further questions or comments you are welcome to respond.  I wish your son well going forward.  Take care,

Ken