What’s an ejection fraction?
A. With each beat, a healthy heart will pump out 55% to 60% of the blood in it. After a heart attack or other ailment that damages the heart muscle, that number (the ejection fraction) is reduced. The government standard for disability approval is usually anything under 30%. Heart patients, not excluded for a heart transplant for reasons of age or other health problems, become “candidates” for transplant when their EF drops below 19%. Medical science is making significant progress finding ways to boost heart patients’ EF. Among those are a variety of medicines such as coreg (carvedilol.) Others are finding relief – with an increase in EF – from a relatively new therapy in the United States called EECP which was developed in China. Unfortunately, not every drug or procedure works for everyone. Each of us needs to explore the options with our doctors.
