Father was told his heart function is at 15% after echo cardiogram. What does this mean?

Hi, may I have advise what to do to improve a 15% heart function? I actually don't know what to do next, please anyone send me advise? Thank you very much.

I was told my heart was working at 15% and I might have a year to live after surviving a AAA aneurism , kidney failure, pneumonia and infections to the lungs and bladder. That was 2 years ago. Now my heart is at 35% with proper medication. I feel like the luckiest person alive although I could drop dead anytime.

my brother who is in his middle 70's was just told his heart is working 15% & his
kidney are not working well. what do we have to look forward too?

age61 male have heart function of 15%have a pacemaker with a pacemaker with defillator what are we up against?

I am not a doctor, so really I'm not qualified to advise. I do know that 15% capacity lets you know that he may go into arrest, but there is no way of knowing when. The hardest decision is if he wants CPR if he goes into arrest. If he doesn't want that, has he prepared a DNR order? It is so hard to watch our parents decline and know there is little we can do about it beyond prepare for the crises. Has your father discussed with you what he wants. If you don't have a DNR order and living will, it would be a good time to discuss it with him if you don't think it would upset him too badly. You may never need them, but they are good to have on hand if you do.

That is one reason whomever is doing the caregiving, they should go with the patient to the doctor's offer to be an extra set of ears and to ask questions that the patient might have not thought about answering.

To get the best information, contact your Dad's primary doctor who will be receiving reports from the cardiologist. No two cases are ever identical.

Its been more tham a yeat mow sice my dad got that diagnosis. He is still going but he isnt as active as he was. Still he is with us with active mind. He lives in assissted living now. Kidney funct6 did improve.

the percentage numbers you are talking about were obtained from a test called an echocardiogram.Normal is greater than 55%,it basically lets you know how well the heart is pumping,especially the left ventricle. I am surprise your father is able to stand with out passing out with an ejection fraction of 15% but the body can be remarkable and adapt up to a point.If he is driving, stop this NOW! Most anything at this point can happen, to still have his mind is great ,love him while you got him, keep him safe,I don't think he would be considered a candidate for a kidney transplant but then the kidney failure is probably related to his decreased cardiac function, I don't mean to sound doom and gloom but he is 90, has his mind and obviously a family member that cares about him which is so much more than a lot of elders have.I would only treat him medically, keep him comfortable and safe and take good care of yourself.

Rosie, most of us here are just like you and have no medical training, but the numbers don't sound good, do they ,so why would you distrust what the doctors are telling you?
As for dying any day, that's probably true for most people who make it to 89. Cherish the time you have left together and do whatever you need to make him happy and comfortable. Have you considered hospice care?

These questions as to low ejection fraction and what it means in terms of your life are best asked of your cardiologists. There could be co-morbidity factors and other issues that no one here can address in part because we don't know your medical histories or conditions, but also because we're generally not medical people.

Those who are could still only give general advice without knowing more specifics for you, and it's not fair to put them in the position of giving advice that could be relied on when they don't have access to the full medical history or other current conditions that affect your outlooks.