A new and better way of diagnosing early stage heart failure patients

First-phase ejection fraction as a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target in cardiac disease

Heart failure is a chronic condition that causes death and disability. It can develop as a result of injury to the heart muscle caused by a heart attack, or for other reasons. A routine test used to diagnose heart failure measures how much blood is pumped out of the heart during each heartbeat. This is known as the ‘ejection fraction’. However, we now know that in many cases the ejection fraction seems normal, so people at high risk of deterioration may be slipping through the net. This team has developed a new measurement using ultrasound called ‘first-phase ejection fraction’ or EF1, based on a new understanding of how muscle fibres in the heart work. EF1 is the volume of blood the heart ejects up to the time that it usually starts the relaxation part of the heartbeat cycle. The researchers think it could be a more sensitive test to identify people at risk of developing heart failure, and to assess how well treatments are performing. With this funding, the team will examine whether a poor EF1 result predicts people that go on to develop late stage heart failure. If so – and because it uses current technology – it could quickly become a new diagnostic tool to identify people with early signs of heart failure.