What is a common echocardiographic indication of heart failure?

A common echocardiographic indication of heart failure is reduced ejection fraction. Ejection fraction is a measure of how much blood is pumped out of the heart's left ventricle with each contraction. In heart failure, particularly in the systolic type, there is a significant decrease in the heart's ability to contract effectively, leading to a lower ejection fraction. This reduction can indicate that the heart is not functioning adequately to supply the body's needs, which is a hallmark of heart failure.

While increased heart chamber size is often observed in heart failure, it may not be as directly indicative of the heart's pumping ability as ejection fraction is. Thickened ventricular walls can suggest other conditions, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and the presence of murmurs may be related to valvular disease rather than a direct indicator of heart failure. Thus, reduced ejection fraction is a key measure that clearly reflects the heart's impaired function in the context of heart failure.