Ejection Fraction
Your ejection fraction is measured during an echocardiogram and can also be measured by nuclear medicine tests, cardiac catheterization and cardiac MRI. An ejection fraction is an important measurement of how well your heart is pumping and is used to help classify heart failure and guide treatment. In a healthy heart, the ejection fraction is 50 percent or higher - meaning that more than half of the blood that fills the ventricle is pumped out with each beat. But, heart failure can occur even with a normal ejection fraction. This happens if the heart muscle becomes stiff from conditions such as high blood pressure.
Stress Test.
Stress tests measure how your heart and blood vessels respond to exertion. You may walk on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bike while attached to an ECG machine. Or you may receive a drug intravenously that stimulates your heart similar to exercise. Stress tests help doctors see if you have coronary artery disease. Stress tests also determine how well your body is responding to your heart's decreased pumping effectiveness and can help guide long-term treatment decisions. If your doctor also wants to see images of your heart while you're exercising, he or she may order a nuclear stress test or a stress echocardiogram. It's similar to an exercise stress test, but it also uses imaging techniques to visualize your heart during the test.
Ejection fraction is a measurement of the percentage of blood leaving your heart each time it contracts. Keep in mind that ejection fraction is just one measure of heart function.
Heart Failure Testing