Ef Percent 15 has me concerned

[Daughter_Concerned]

Hi.. I am looking for some feed back on low EF percentages.
My father, who is 64 years old, has had multiple heart attacks and has a pace maker/defibulator, was recently admitted to the hospital for a Heart cath. A week earlier he had passed out at  home, his cardiologist informed us after looking at his defibulator results that he was in cardiac arrest and his defib had shocked him on this date. (Dad did not know this when he woke, and even just went about his day).
Dr's thought there might be blockage so they decided to do the heart cath. Cath came back with minimal blockage not even a stint was needed. But we were told he only had 15%ef. As a year ago he was at 30. I was shocked that it had dropped this much and I am concerned at the life expectancy with a percentage that low.
I have read many things online about low EF's. Most with 15% or lower are candidates for a transplant. Doctor told us with my dads age and health (he also suffers from Chron's disease) a transplant was not an option.
I am at a loss and just need some answers on what we may be facing.
Thank you for any input.

[68Survivor]

Hello, I am 72 and have a low LVEF of 10%. Two years ago (almost a a last resort) my Cardiologist started me on Ivabradine (Servier, a French Co.) Since that time although my LVEF has not improved my lungs have cleared and I can sleep fully flat. The criteria for Ivabradine are that you must be in Sinus Rhythm and have a resting HR of over 80 bpm.
My HR at rest is now 60 bpm so a reduction of 25+ % in HR seems to have made a big difference. I also have a CRT-D and all the usual meds (my only religion!)
All the best, I hope this helps.

[Bromley]

Hi.  I tell people that I am more of root cause person. So I think it depends on why ef is low.  ef could be low because the walls of the heart are thick, or if the valves are having a problem.  These are just some of the causes.  I assume some causes are treatable, and others may not be. If it were me, I would be a little inquisitive. Your doctor should know the reasons and be able to support his reasoning with data. As a receiver of care, you should at least have some understanding of the potential causes, how they measure things, typical variance, and treatment options. Use mind mapping or anything you can if you need to develop better understanding. If you have unresolved questions about it, you should validate findings using a second opinion or get more help.

Very sorry to hear about this. My cousin, who was a well known emergency medicine doctor died after surgery for ventricular resection. This is a treatment option for some people and some conditions.

[Daughter_Concerned]

Thank you so much for the information!
Yes he's had 2 prior heart attacks.

[itdood]

p.s., Heart transplants at 64 are not uncommon.   I looked it up, and inflammitory diseases like Chron's will get worse after a transplant, so I guess that's the limiting factor.  Trying to make that issue go away is probably going to be impossible.

My other ideas for him are

LVAD, those new mechanical devices that assist the left ventricle.  **** Cheney had one while he waited for his transplant

research cardiac stem cell therapy

also, when my father's LVEF got down to 15% he spent 5 months at home waiting for the transplant, and was OK.  Granted he was 42 and no other complications.  So there is time to find options.

[itdood]

My father had a transplant when it got down to 15%.  Difference is, his damage was from blocked arteries and he was young, 42.

At 15% he started to get congestive heart failure, meaning fluid was starting to build up in his tissues.  When this happens in the lungs it's bad.

What the EF tells is that the left ventricle is only able to eject 15% of the blood that it fills with.  This shows that the left ventricular muscle is not contracting (moving) well.  This is also what is causing the dangerous arrhythmia, he's probably having an episode of vtach which the ICD shocked him out of.

I would want to know why the muscle isn't working well, and what can be done to reverse it.  If it's not from blood starvation, then perhaps it's from his previous heart attacks (infarctions)?