Hi. I am a 48 year old woman with uncontrolled hypertension. I'm slightly overweight but I'm working on it with diets and mild exercises. I have no history of heart attack or stroke. Also, I do not smoke or drink alcohol. My cholesterol was 210 but according to my doctor it's a good cholesterol so he is not concerned. Also, triglycerides are 112 which is also normal. I'm not using any medications, but I was taking antianxiety drugs last year, when I have had one abnormal ECG showing non-specific ST segment depression. I have had very persistent episodes of tachycardia, sometimes lasting for hours. Echocardiogram had shown ejection fraction over 70%, hyperdinamic. So I was wondering what does a high ejection fraction mean? I guess it is how much blood is pumped out of my ventricle, right? Is 70% normal? I've heard that a normal range for ejection fraction is 55-75% but I'm still worried. Thanks.
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If all my cardiac patients had an ejection fraction of 70%, I'd be out of business! Your EF is normal. It's at the high range, but it's normal and really that is a VERY good thing for your heart. It means that the left ventricle is very efficient and is pumping 70% of the total blood volume it contains OUT into the bloodstream. When the ejection fraction drops into the 50% range, it means the heart has been damaged by disease or a heart attack. When it drops into the 30% range, a patient could expect to be in some form of heart failure. The heart simply will not get the oxygen it needs to stay healthy.
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