Hello
Had a recent Echo and the result was EF between 40/45 % last Echo was 43 %. It has always been precise and never between 40 and 45. Just wondering is an Echo a best guess, not like an MRI which is exact ?
ps Happy with the result though !!
Regards Frank W
Hi Prada47
Sometimes Echo EF can vary ever so slightly even if your condition hasn't deteriorated, depending on how easily the physiologist can view the pictures of your heart with the probe. You're right that MRI pictures are much more accurate. Sounds like all is stable if you're within the same range as last time!
Best of luck!
Ashleigh
XXX thanks for your reply
Dr.Gupta has done a video on YouTube called Making sense of your echo report.He explains how ejection fraction is decided.He says quite often by visual perception so can differ slightly depending who looks at it.
Having worked with imaging systems in the past I think most of the figures you are given are estimates. For instance with an angiogram you may be told LAD 85% with right circumflex at 70%. These are estimates of the narrowest point as it varies along the length of the artery and the deposits are not necessarily even resulting in a simple reduced diameter. Similarly the estimate for EF. X-rays and echo (ultrasound) are fairly basic technologies compared to an MRI which uses complex computer algorithms to build up the image.
Summing up I would say your condition looks stable. Note I am a physicist and not a medical professional.
An echocardiogram is a urtasound scan of ur heart a bit like wen a pregnant woman goes for a baby scan but of ur heart. So I guess a mri or ct is wen they need more info. Sorry I can’t spell.
An echo is used for lots of other purposes besides getting an EF. They get good information about all other parts of your heart as well. When you have your echo you have probably noticed how the tech outlines your left ventricle when it is full and when it is empty. The ef is calculated from these measurements. As you can imagine it is very subjective, as it is dependent on the tech. With the measurements taken with an MRI and other nuclear tests, they are more precise, but they really do not change the reading that much. It is dependent on the skill of the tech, but as I said, lots of other good stuff is done during an echo. Your ef is excellent for someone with heart disease, so I would be over the moon. Congratulations you are obviously doing something right.
Turned down an ICD/SICD offering?
First Echo Since HF Diagnosis
Stress echo 
Echo tomorrow
Echo report.?
