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Ejection fraction

 
Sports Science and Medicine: ejection fraction
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The proportion of blood ejected out of the left ventricle during each heartbeat. It is equal to the stroke volume divided by the end diastolic volume. The ejection fraction, is usually expressed as a percentage. It averages about 60% at rest.

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Medical Dictionary: ejection fraction
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n.

The blood present in the ventricle at the end of diastole and expelled during the contraction of the heart.

Veterinary Dictionary: ejection fraction
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In echocardiography, the fractional volume of blood leaving the left ventricle in systole.

Wikipedia: Ejection fraction
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In cardiovascular physiology, ejection fraction (Ef) is the fraction of blood pumped out of a ventricle with each heart beat. The term ejection fraction applies to both the right and left ventricles; one can speak equally of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF). Without a qualifier, the term ejection fraction refers specifically to that of the left ventricle. Its reverse operation is the injection fraction.

Contents

Overview

By definition, the volume of blood within a ventricle immediately before a contraction is known as the end-diastolic volume. Similarly, the volume of blood left in a ventricle at the end of contraction is end-systolic volume. The difference between end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes is the stroke volume, the volume of blood ejected with each beat. Ejection fraction (Ef) is the fraction of the end-diastolic volume that is ejected with each beat; that is, it is stroke volume (SV) divided by end-diastolic volume (EDV):

E_f = \frac{SV}{EDV} = \frac{EDV - ESV}{EDV}

Normal values

Parameter Value
end-diastolic volume (EDV) 120 ml
end-systolic volume (ESV) 50 ml
stroke volume (SV) 70 ml
ejection fraction (Ef) 58%
heart rate (HR) 70 bpm
cardiac output (CO) 4.9 L/m

In a healthy 70-kg (154-lb) man, the SV is approximately 70 ml and the left ventricular EDV is 120 ml, giving an ejection fraction of 70/120, or 0.58 (58%).

Right ventricular volumes being roughly equal to those of the left ventricle, the ejection fraction of the right ventricle is normally equal to that of the left ventricle within narrow limits.

Healthy individuals typically have ejection fractions between 50% and 65%.[1] However, normal values depend upon the modality being used to calculate the ejection fraction. Damage to the muscle of the heart (myocardium), such as that sustained during myocardial infarction or in cardiomyopathy, impairs the heart's ability to eject blood and therefore reduces ejection fraction. This reduction in the ejection fraction can manifest itself clinically as heart failure.

The ejection fraction is one of the most important predictors of prognosis; those with significantly reduced ejection fractions typically have poorer prognoses. However, recent studies have indicated that a preserved ejection fraction does not mean freedom from risk.[2][3]

Measurement

Ejection fraction is commonly measured by echocardiography, in which the volumes of the heart's chambers are measured during the cardiac cycle. Ejection fraction can then be obtained by dividing stroke volume by end-diastolic volume as described above.

Other methods of measuring ejection fraction include cardiac MRI, fast scan cardiac computed axial tomography (CT) imaging, ventriculography, Gated SPECT, and the MUGA scan. A MUGA scan involves the injection of a radioisotope into the blood and detecting its flow through the left ventricle. The historical gold standard for the measurement of ejection fraction is ventriculography.

See also

References

  1. ^ Cotran, Ramzi S.; Kumar, Vinay; Fausto, Nelson; Nelso Fausto; Robbins, Stanley L.; Abbas, Abul K. (2005). Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier Saunders. pp. 602. ISBN 0-7216-0187-1. 
  2. ^ Owan TE, Hodge DO, Herges RM, Jacobsen SJ, Roger VL, Redfield MM (July 2006). "Trends in prevalence and outcome of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction". N. Engl. J. Med. 355 (3): 251–9. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa052256. PMID 16855265. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=short&pmid=16855265&promo=ONFLNS19. 
  3. ^ Bhatia RS, Tu JV, Lee DS, et al. (July 2006). "Outcome of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in a population-based study". N. Engl. J. Med. 355 (3): 260–9. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa051530. PMID 16855266. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=short&pmid=16855266&promo=ONFLNS19. 
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Copyrights:

Sports Science and Medicine. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.  Read more
Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ejection fraction".  Read more