Ef

[Yasyass]

Can ef be improved by diet or medications and how does anyone know if ef is improving because sometimes we have no symptons but only find out when tests were done

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

HF (heart failure) of which EF is a measure can be improved in many cases by a combination of medication, exercise and diet. However, every case of HF is different so you need to speak with your cardiologist. It would be foolhardy for anyone to make any specific recommendations.

HF is more to do with an individual's symptoms than the exact EF. I have explained previously how the measurement is fairly crude. If someone told me that their EF had gone from 30% to 35% there is every chance it has barely changed or has gone up more than 5%.

Please don't Google HF. There is probably more misinformation about HF out there than any other heart condition.

[Yasyass in reply to MichaelJH]

Yes I totally agree with you but my cardiologist didn’t give me much info as to why further tests were needed only to say severe heart damage low ef and I ask if I could travel far on planes he said yes and eat wh want but limit so I left puzzled to as can I live a normal life and on the other hand the words severe worry me and mk me have constant anxiety in case my condition worsens

[Heythrop51 in reply to Yasyass]

Have you thought of getting a second opinion as it all seem contradictory? Severe heart damage and low EF, and yet you have no symptoms and your doctor is happy for you to fly long haul.

[Yasyass in reply to Heythrop51]

That’s wh is confusing I don’t know where to get a second opinion

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to Yasyass]

Have to agree with Heythrop51 's comments. It might be worth asking about counselling for anxiety as you are not helping yourself. And please stop Googling!

[Prada47]

Hello Yasyass

Don't worry about the word Severe it is easily possible to move between Mild, Moderate, Severe when referring to HF the main cause of low EF.

Medication is normally upped to maximum tolerable dose to either stabilise or improve the Heart Function. Improvement is very possible with the correct medication

After an Angiogram and MRI the cardiologist may look at re vasculisation ? but it is not a recommended treatment for low EF it is rather to alleviate symptoms of Angina.

As Michael has said it is difficult to obtain a true EF with an Echocardiogram an MRI is better but requires an expert to read the scan and it can still be a few % points out.

In summary you can have a low ef and have no symptoms and conversely you can have an ef of 40 % and above, and be very symptomatic !!

Regards

When looking at definition of HF look at hf with preserved ef and hf with reduced ef I think I am correct in saying treatment is slightly different for preserved or reduced ef. If this is incorrect please correct me !!

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to Prada47]

Yes treatment varies. Another factor that comes into the equation is eGFR - a reduced one can affect dosing.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

You can get a second opinion two ways. One is to ask your GP for a referral to another hospital but check on the consultants or you may see the same person! Alternatively go private. I did this early in my cardiac adventures as after my initial assessment in the Urgent Chest Pain Clinic I was told there was a four month wait. An initial consultation is £200 - £250. During this my medication was tweaked to give better angina relief and I arranged a private angiogram for the following week. I then went back to the NHS not having deep pockets! ☹️