What does VEF mean in ONCOLOGY

Ventricular Ejection Fraction (VEF) is one of the most important measures used to assess the functioning of the left ventricle and overall cardiac status. VEF provides an estimation of how much blood enters the aorta during each heartbeat and is expressed as a percentage.

Those with heart disease or risk factors for heart disease, as well as athletes who want to measure the efficiency of their hearts should be aware of their VEF levels.

VEF does not always require specialized tests and can be estimated from simple measurements such as systolic blood pressure and ejection time. However, clinicians may also use echocardiography, which can provide a more accurate measurement in certain cases.

Higher values indicate increased efficient contraction by the heart, while lower ones are indicative of malfunctioning or reduced cardiac output. A greater VEF suggests that more oxygen-rich blood was pumped into circulation with every beat of the heart, resulting in better cardiovascular health.

Lowered levels are indicative of decreased pumping ability by left ventricle or underlying pathological processes such as valve thickening leading to malfunctioning and compromising cardiovascular health; it could also result in symptoms like chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath and even death in some cases if not treated timely.