Middle English (Scots) carne, from Scottish Gaelic carn; akin to Old Irish & Welsh carn cairn
Ejection fraction is commonly measured by an echocardiogram and serves as a general measure of a person's cardiac function. Ejection fraction is typically low in patients with the systolic form of congestive heart failure.
This is the level that CHF patients reach while performing simple tasks such as walking up a flight of stairs. Therefore, further stressing their hearts with vigorous cardiovascular exercise can result in decreased contractility, thus a decreased ejection fraction. âIt (ejection fraction) is commonly expressed as a percentage and normally ranges from 55% to 80% (mean 67%) under resting conditions. Ejection fractions of less than 55% indicate depressed myocardial contractilityâ (3). With a depressed ejection fraction, the heart of a CHF patient inflates like a saggy water-balloon during exercise as fluid builds up.