What Are Ejection Fraction and Cardiac Output?
Ejection Fraction & Cardiac Output are key numbers that tell us how well your heart pumps blood, measured through EF (ejection fraction) and CO (cardiac output).
These numbers help doctors understand how strong or weak your heart may be.
Ejection Fraction: What’s Normal?
Normal ejection fraction range is usually 50% to 70%. That means your heart pushes out half (or more) of the blood in your left ventricle each time it beats.
Normal EF by Age:
These numbers can go down slightly as you age, but very low values may point to a heart problem.
What Happens When Ejection Fraction Is Low?
Ejection fraction low means the heart isn’t pumping well. This may lead to:
These are common symptoms of low ejection fraction and can point to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (also called HFrEF).
Low EF can also mean your left ventricular function is poor.
What Causes a Low Ejection Fraction?
If you’ve been told your ejection fraction heart test is below 40%, your doctor may recommend reduced ejection fraction treatment. At BaleDoneen, this can include medicine, lifestyle changes, and follow-up tests like echocardiogram and ejection fraction tracking.
Can EF Improve?
Yes. Many people ask how to improve ejection fraction. It may get better with:
This is called ejection fraction recovery. Your doctor will retest using echocardiogram heart function checks every few months.
What Is Cardiac Output?
Cardiac output is the amount of blood your heart pumps per minute. It’s measured in liters. Most adults pump around 4 to 8 liters per minute.
It depends on two things:
- Heart rate (HR) – how many times your heart beats in a minute
- Stroke volume (SV) – how much blood is pushed out per beat
So:
CO = HR × SV
What Is a Normal Cardiac Output?
A healthy cardiac output value is around 5 liters per minute. But this can change depending on:
If CO is low, the body doesn’t get enough oxygen. This may lead to low cardiac output heart failure.
Signs of Low Cardiac Output
These are common decreased cardiac output symptoms, especially during activity.
What Affects Cardiac Output?
There are four main factors:
- Heart rate
- Stroke volume
- Preload (how much blood fills the heart)
- Afterload (resistance the heart pumps against)
All of these impact heart pumping capacity and blood flow to your brain and body.
How Do Doctors Measure EF and CO?
Common heart function tests include:
These tools help your doctor track ejection fraction and heart health over time.
BaleDoneen Method can help here.
We use Ejection Fraction & Cardiac Output (EF and CO) numbers alongside advanced tests like carotid intima-media thickness and blood markers—including hs-CRP, Lp(a), troponin, and NT-proBNP to find your real risk. We also help track progress and build a custom plan if heart function starts to drop.
Ejection Fraction vs Cardiac Output
People often ask about cardiac output vs ejection fraction. Both matter, but they show different things.
A normal Ejection Fraction & Cardiac Output result isn’t always guaranteed together as one can be off while the other looks fine. That’s why it’s important to check both.