A few extra pounds around your waist aren't just a sign that you need to cut back on calories and exercise more. Excess belly fat is also a warning that you have an increased risk of heart failure, according to a study that was presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Barcelona, the Daily Mail reports.  Researchers from Oxford University said that each extra inch on the waist increases the risk by 11% and poses a greater risk to heart health than total weight. The scientists analyzed data from 430,000 Britons aged 40 to 70 who were monitored for an average of 13 years. They found that every extra inch to a healthy waist size was associated with an increased risk of heart events such as heart attack, stroke or irregular rhythm. The fifth of people with the largest waist were 3.21 times more likely to be affected than the fifth of study participants with the thinnest waist. But those with the largest body mass index (BMI), which takes weight and height into account, were only 2.65 times more likely to suffer than those with the smallest. Each additional unit of BMI increased the likelihood of heart failure by 9%. The study recorded 8,669 cases of first heart failure, many of which resulted in death. Lead researcher Dr. Ayodipupo Oguntade advises to measure yourself annually to control your risk.  Heart failure is a long-term condition in which the heart cannot pump blood through the body and causes shortness of breath and other symptoms.  Two out of three Britons are overweight or obese, and heart and circulatory disease causes a quarter of all deaths in the United Kingdom, claiming nearly 500 lives a day.