Question

A nurse reads in the chart that a patient has an ejection fraction of 15. What type of ejection fraction is this?

1) diastolic
2) systolic
3) ectopic
4) vasovagal

Answer 1

An ejection fraction of 15% is a measure related to the systolic phase of the heart cycle and indicates severe heart dysfunction.

Step-by-step explanation:

The ejection fraction that a nurse reads in a patient's chart, which in this case is 15%, is associated with the systolic phase of the cardiac cycle. This figure represents the percentage of blood pumped out of the ventricles with each contraction. The end diastolic volume (EDV) is the amount of blood in the ventricles at the end of atrial systole just prior to ventricular contraction, and stroke volume (SV) is the amount of blood pumped by the ventricle in a single beat. Ejection fraction is the SV divided by EDV and is typically expressed as a percentage. Normal ejection fractions range from approximately 55-70 percent. An ejection fraction of 15% is considered very low, suggesting severe heart dysfunction and potentially heart failure, where the heart is not able to pump blood efficiently.