First post on this site

[Organplayer]

Been diagnosed with heartfailure with preserved fraction! Anyone know what that means? Also have AFib and AFlutter

Thankd

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

There is a lot of Information on the BHF website and I have reproduced some below. I think it is you worth giving the BHF nurses a call as they are all very experienced.

An echocardiogram (or echo) is an ultrasound of the heart. During an echo, we record short videos of the heart as it beats, and from these videos we can learn about the structure and function of the heart. The left ventricle is the main pumping chamber of your heart – it is the one where blood leaves your heart to be pumped around your body. Because it is doing all this work, it is the largest and most muscular of the four chambers of your heart.

Systolic means the part of the heartbeat where the heart contracts and squeezes to pump out blood. Left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) means that the left ventricle is not working well - it is pumping out less oxygenated blood to your body than it should do.

LVSD can lead to symptoms of breathlessness, and swelling around the feet, ankles and stomach because of fluid build-up. This is sometimes called congestive heart failure. LVSD is most often caused by blockages in the vessels which supply blood to the heart muscle, for example a heart attack. Other causes may be related to high blood pressure, diseases affecting the heart muscle (such as cardiomyopathy), or leaky or narrowed heart valves.

The opposite to ‘systolic’ is ‘diastolic’, where the heart relaxes between heartbeats and fills up with blood again (you may also have seen these terms on your blood pressure reading). If the left ventricle doesn’t relax properly, it wouldn’t fill very well. This is known as diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) and can lead to the same symptoms as LVSD.

The ejection fraction (EF) is the amount of blood your heart pumps (or ejects) with each heartbeat and is a useful way of measuring LVSD. A normal EF is about 55-65 per cent. It’s important to understand that “normal” is not 100 per cent. Measuring the EF helps your doctor to understand how well the heart is pumping. Generally an EF below 40 per cent is considered a sign that the heart is not pumping as well as it should. In cases where the heart function is reduced, and EF is below 40 per cent (sometimes referred to as heart failure), there are treatments such as medications and pacemakers or ICDs (implantable cardioverter defibrillators) that can help to control your symptoms, keep you well, and help you to live a full life.

[Organplayer in reply to MichaelJH]

Thank you so much for your explanation , sometimes I get so flustered and overcome I don’t ask the proper questions! Also suffer from Stage 3b CKD so on a lot and was told heart failure and kidney failure are like brother and sister, each one blaming the other for causing the illness!! Thank you again ! On a lot of Medication!!

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to Organplayer]

You might find the link below helpful. It refers to the heart-kidney link. Often there seems to be an underlying factor like hypertension and/or diabetes.

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo....

[dunestar]

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is a bit puzzling to understand. Basically what it means is that although the amount of blood your heart pumps out with each beat is within normal range you still are not getting what you need to function well.

Here is an excerpt from a British Medical Journal note on the condition. It's a bit technical but you may be able to take the bones from it. I hope you can speak to someone who can explain things and answer your questions.

"Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome resulting from the impaired ability of the heart to cope with the metabolic needs of the body, resulting in breathlessness, fatigue, and fluid retention.

Approximately half of patients with heart failure have normal, or near-normal, left ventricular ejection fraction and are classified as having heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

The most common risk factors are advanced age, female sex, hypertension, obesity, chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease.

Patients may present with acute decompensated heart failure and are generally managed with diuresis, blood pressure control, and treatment of ischaemia and tachyarrhythmia, when present."

[Organplayer in reply to dunestar]

Thank you so much! I have been looking up various heart problems etc, so not going to worry unduly and just carry on as normal, but thank you again.