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Good news! Many people with a low ejection fraction (EF) have improved it. 

Better heart failure management can lead to a better EF. When you manage heart failure carefully and follow your treatment plan, you might have fewer symptoms and feel better. You could also see an improvement or even a recovery of your heart’s EF.  

People with improved or recovered EF usually have fewer hospitalizations and better overall results.

View a printable version of this information (PDF).

1. Talk with your health care professional about improving your EF.

Your health care professional can help you create a realistic plan for you. Ask them for their recommendations. Accept encouragement and support from family members or friends who can help you reach your goals.

Before you decide on your next steps, ask your health care professional these questions:

• What is my EF?
• Why is my EF low? How does my EF affect my health?
• Which lifestyle changes or medications are likely to help me? Is there anything I should avoid?
• If I track my heart failure symptoms, how might that help improve my results?
• When should I plan to retest my EF?

2. Treat any known causes of heart failure.

Find out if your heart failure is linked to an underlying cause. Many risk factors are associated with heart failure, including:

• High blood pressure, or hypertension
• Diabetes
• Metabolic syndrome

When you manage those conditions, you might be able to improve your heart failure and your EF.

Know your plan and follow it carefully. If you have been prescribed medications for heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure or another related cause, taking those medications may also improve your EF. Over time, your heart might be able to recover, strengthen and perform better.

3. Get the right amount of physical activity.

Physical activity helps most people with heart failure. Some patients who follow an exercise plan see improvements in their EF. Research shows that being active can help people living with heart failure by:

• Reducing symptoms
• Improving mood 
• Increasing the heart’s ability to pump blood 

If your heart failure is stable and you have your health care professional’s permission, do what moves you.

Some exercise tips:  

• Consider a cardiac rehab program. It offers unique benefits, and you might be able to join a supervised home-based exercise program. Talk to your health care professional to see if you qualify. Explore our cardiac rehab resources.
  
  
• Work toward 20-30 minutes of cardio a day. Most heart failure exercise programs focus on improving aerobic fitness.
  
  
• Explore strength training. Studies show resistance or weight training can help people living with heart failure. Strength training can also help to improve EF. Talk with your health care professional before starting. Go easy on yourself at first.
  
  
• Walking is a good, safe way to begin. It’s easy to do and might help you learn to pace yourself. Your health care professional might do a 6-minute walk test to help measure your progress over time. You start by seeing how far you can walk in one 6-minute session.
  
  
• Begin and end with a warm-up and cool-down. If you use a fitness tracker or heart rate monitor, you could benefit from setting heart rate zones with your health care professional. A brief warm-up and cool down can:
  • Help your body transition in and out of your exercise zone 
  • Reduce symptoms of dizziness and/or lightheadedness

4. Pay attention to your weight.

Your weight is important. Tracking your weight can give you clues about how your heart is managing its load.

• Track and respond to weight changes. You might notice patterns that help you respond to changes before they get worse.
  
  
• Maintain a healthy body weight. A healthy body mass index makes it easier for your heart and blood vessels to circulate blood and manage fluid levels.

5. Know your sodium limits and regulate fluids.

• Check your sodium intake. The average American consumes about 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day. This can lead to the body holding extra fluids and adding strain on the heart. 
  
  
• Follow your sodium recommendations. For most patients with heart failure, the AHA recommendations of no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day are appropriate. However, your treatment plan may have a different recommendation. Read labels and follow your treatment plan.
   
• Discover ways to help you cut sodium.

6. Eliminate harmful substances.

• Don’t drink alcohol. Alcohol can increase the risk of heart failure and worsen symptoms. By cutting out alcohol, the signs and symptoms of heart failure often improve.
  
  
• Quit smoking. Smoking cigarettes is especially unsafe for people with heart failure. Discover the resources that can help you quit for good.
  
  
• Quit any use of cocaine or amphetamines. These substances are strongly linked with heart failure and should be stopped to improve your chances of a recovered EF. 
  
  
• Do not stop taking any prescribed medications without talking with your health care professional. 

7. Lower your stress.

• Care for your emotional well-being. The link between heart failure and stress is unclear. But stress can increase your heart rate and blood pressure — two things that can worsen heart failure symptoms. 
  
  
• Practice stress-reducing habits. We cannot always control what happens to us, but we can practice skills for lowering stress. It never hurts to develop tools for emotional health. Read some quick tips for lowering stress or visit our to connect with others.

What results can I expect?

Although results can vary, the efforts you put into improving your EF can have additional positive results. You might discover that you feel better and have fewer symptoms. The investment you are making to help yourself recover is your best path for taking control of your health.

Connect with others on our  where people encourage each other daily to achieve their best health.

View our sheet: HF and Your Ejection Fraction Explained (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)