Heart failure is a condition which is growing in prevalence. Before the development of symptoms of heart failure, the heart may have changes which can be found on ultrasound scans of the heart (echocardiography). These changes include thickening of the heart muscle or enlargment of the heart chambers. Patients who have risk factors for heart failure but no signs of heart problems on echocardiography are classified as having stage A heart failure. People with evidence of heart abnormalities on echocardiography but no symptoms of heart failure are known are stage B heart failure. People with symptoms of heart failure and abnormalities on echocardiography are known as stage C or stage D heart failure depending on the severity of symptoms. If the abnormalities of stage B heart failure can be detected early then specific medications to prevent progression to symptomatic heart failure can be undertaken. It would be difficult to provide echocardiography for everyone with risk factors for heart failure due to the large numbers involved. The ECG is an electrical tracing of the heart and some studies have shown that people with stage B heart failure have abnormalities on their ECG. This study will determine if abnormalities on the ECG can predict stage B heart failure and what these ECG abnormalities are. This will help identify the people who need to have echocardiograms to guide their treatment.
