What is EF in the Echo test result

[Ashraogs]

Hi,

We got the Echo test done for my mother,
The results say everthing is normal,EF is 56%.
What is EF ?

Her BP(Blood Pressure) keeps varying 220/11o some times 170/90?
What could be the reson for the variation in the BP

Regards
Ashwini

[kenkeith]

There are variations of blood pressure as there is variation of the heart rate and ejection fraction (EF,the left ventricle will dilate for stronger contractions). Ed has explained the calculation.  The variations are system regulated so there can be a balance of blood flow between the amount of blood received and the amount pumped into circulation.

Normal blood pressure is 120/80.  Your mother should get the blood pressure under control before there is damage to the blood vessels....  

[ed34]

Basically what they do is estimate how much blood is in the left ventricle just before it squeezes to push it out into the body. They then wait until the blood has been squeezed out and measure whats left (not every drop is ever squeezed out). If you subtract the remainder from what you had at the beginning, you get the amount of blood that the heart ejected out of the chamber. This is then turned into a percentage.
Normal is around 55%-70%.
So 56% is within limits.