Which of the following is a common indication of heart failure on an EKG?

Wide QRS complexes on an EKG are a common indication of heart failure because they often indicate underlying conduction abnormalities within the heart's ventricles. In heart failure, the heart may struggle to pump effectively due to issues such as ventricular hypertrophy or dilatation, which can lead to a delay in electrical conduction. This results in wider-than-normal QRS complexes, reflecting prolonged ventricular depolarization.

In addition to wide QRS complexes, other EKG findings could suggest heart failure, but they may not be as direct or common as QRS widening. For instance, elevated ST segments might indicate myocardial ischemia rather than heart failure directly, while shortened PR intervals are typically not associated with heart failure but might suggest other types of conduction disturbances like pre-excitation syndromes. Absent P waves can point towards atrial fibrillation or other atrial arrhythmias, which can coexist with heart failure but do not specifically indicate it. Therefore, wide QRS complexes serve as a significant marker for identifying heart failure on an EKG.