@joejumbalya ECHO's in my opinion don't seem to be what most Cardiologists rely solely on. In my situation after having a HA back in 2014 (66 at the time), my EF was measured at 30. I had been working out regularly for several years so after going through Heart Rehab at the hospital I went back to the gym and determined I would turn things around. Started off slow, but continued to build on things. A year later having my annual Echo, I was convinced it was going to be much stronger only to find out that there was no change!
I was very dissapointed because I worked very hard and felt really good. I decided after that to get a 2nd opinion and so I went to the Mayo Clinic in AZ for a day of testing, with a Stress Echo at the end. It was an amazing time and at the end of the day had a meeting with the Cardiologist that was following me through most of the testing that day and he said right at the top that my EF was easily above 40. He followed up with me 2 weeks later with his results and told me I was between 45-47. To this day my original Cardiologist still shows me at an EF of 30.
I am currently seeing a new Cardiologist in AZ (we are Snobirds) and he relies more on Heart MRI's over & above Echo's and refers to them as the Gold Std.
Second opinions are highly recommended in my opinion! Jim@ thankful