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[Karissloane]

Back in December I felt a tightness in my chest and went to the doctor thinking I had a cold coming on. During the visit the doctor found my pulse to be fast (120). She sent me for an ECG which showed my pulse to be normal. They than sent me for a stress test and once again my pulse was high, but everything else was fine. The put me on beta blockers at this point to slow the rate of my heart and set up an echo. The echo showed my EF to be 35%. They have no idea what is causing my EF to be so low.

I am a 26 year old female, fairly active, non-smoker, I drink a few times a year, normal cholestoral, not diabetic, slim build, low-normal blood pressure. I met with another doctor who has since put me on a second drug for hypertension. Both drugs low my blood pressure which is already boardline low.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice about what I can expect or be doing now. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I've been sort of stressing out about all of this as until Decemeber I considered myself to be a very healthy person. I feel completely blindsided by all of this.

[kenkeith]

Your welcome.

[Karissloane]

Yeah...hense the doctor's confusion and my frustration lol. Thanks for your help though.

[kenkeith]

The normal range for the left ventricle is 55-75%, the right side is about 45%.  I can't think of any way there can be a low left ventricle ejection fraction when there is no left side abnormality,  There may be some confusion with the right side ejection fraction that is normal with a much lower EF.  Hope this helps.

[Karissloane]

The echo said everything else was fine aside from the low EF, all the chambers or whatever were normal.

[kenkeith]

QUOTE: "The echo showed my EF to be 35%. They have no idea what is causing my EF to be so low"

Your left ventricle is not effectively pumping blood into circulation.  Normal EF is 55 to 75%.  It indicates the fraction of blood pumped with each heartbeat. It seems an echo can determine a low EF source, and it is almost always due to heart wall movement disorder.  Sometimes the disease is unknown regarding the heart's muscle dysfunction. Did the echo report provide heart wall sizes?

[Karissloane]

When I get stressed or anxious my heart definately does beat harder. I just find everything really frustrating because none of the doctors can tell me what's going on. *sigh*

[1fatherof2]

i am a 32 year old male. I currently take Atenolol and Lisinopril, but unlike yourself I am a bit overweight and have had a few high blood pressure readings. Have you noticed in arrythmias or strange sensations with your heart? I do suffer from some anxiety and when i am overstressed and under rested i experience a sensation that feels like my hear skips a beat and then is followed by a harder beat. If you aren't getting enough sleep, it can really take a toll on your body.