Answers for heart patientsతెలుగులో చదవండి
My heart pumping (EF) is low. Can it get better?
EF is a number from your echo test. It shows how much blood your heart pushes out with each beat. Over 50% is normal. For many people, EF goes up with exercise. No doctor can promise it will, or by how much.
Drawn to scale, 0 to 60%. 35% is only an example start. The gains (about 4 points, and about 6 points) are the averages of 18 trials of steady exercise (Tucker and others, 2019). Some people gained more. Some gained less.
What the studies show
In 2019, researchers pooled 18 trials of people with low EF. Steady exercise, like walking or cycling, raised EF by about 4 points on average. In trials that lasted 6 months or more, it rose by about 6 points.
Weight training on its own did not change EF.
What Dr Muralidar sees
For some patients, EF goes up a little. For others, it goes up a fair amount. A few move from heart failure to a normal EF, or above. But he cannot promise it will happen, or how much it will rise.
So do not judge your heart by one number. Cardiac rehab makes the heart and body stronger. It builds stamina. Some of his patients now play sports for fun. A better EF, if it comes, is a bonus.
More than a number
A 2024 review looked at 60 trials of exercise for heart failure, with 8,728 people. In the first year, about 16 in 100 people who exercised went to hospital. For those who did not exercise, it was about 24 in 100. Their daily life was likely better too.
AHA, ESC and the NHS all advise exercise or cardiac rehab for people with stable heart failure. AHA and ESC give exercise training their highest grade, Class I, Level A.
Please do not start hard exercise alone
Keep taking your medicines. Ask your doctor before you start. Weigh yourself often. Fast weight gain can mean water is building up in the body.
What happens at Cardiac Rehab
- A doctor checks you first.
- You get an exercise plan made for you.
- You exercise for 90 minutes, 3 times a week, while the doctor’s team watches.
- Step by step, the exercise gets harder as you get stronger.
Why it helps with this
Cardiac rehab is steady exercise, 3 times a week, with a doctor’s team. In the studies above, programmes of 6 months or more gave the bigger EF gains.
Dr Muralidar’s experience: even when EF does not move much, rehab builds strength and stamina. And in the studies, people with heart failure who exercised went to hospital less.
For stable heart failure, US (AHA and ACC) and European (ESC) guidelines give exercise training their highest grade: Class I, Level A.
Cardiac Rehab, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad runs these sessions.
Frequently asked questions
How can I increase my EF?
Four things help. First, take your heart failure medicines every day, the way your doctor wrote them. Second, your doctor may treat the cause, such as a blocked artery or a bad valve. Third, exercise with a doctor’s team: in studies, EF rose about 4 points on average, and about 6 points with 6 months or more. Fourth, keep going. AHA says that with proper care and treatment, many people improve their EF and live a longer, healthier life.
What is a normal EF? When is it heart failure?
AHA puts it like this. Normal: 50 to 70%. Mildly reduced: 41 to 49%. Symptoms may show during activity. Reduced: 40% or less. This is heart failure with reduced EF. You can also have heart failure with a normal EF of 50% or more. This is called heart failure with preserved EF. The heart muscle is thick and stiff, so it holds less blood.
How long will I live with a low EF?
No web page can tell you that. Your doctor knows your heart. But two things help people with low EF live longer. Medicines: a 2020 study looked at four heart failure medicines taken together. It estimated they add about 6 years of life at age 55, and about 1½ years at age 80. Cardiac rehab: AHA says it can help people with stable heart failure live longer and better. In the first year, studies mostly show fewer hospital stays and a better daily life.
This page is general advice. Your own doctor knows your heart. If your doctor has told you something different, follow your doctor.
Written by Dr. Muralidar Babi, MBBS, MD (CMC Vellore), Cardiac Rehab Physician.