Heart rate and mortality

Abstract

Abstract. Reunanen A, Karjalainen J, Ristola P, Helio Èvaara M, Knekt P, Aromaa A (National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Central Military Hospital, Helsinki, and Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard, Helsinki, Finland). Heart rate and mortality. J Intern Med 2000; 247: 231±239.Objectives. Increased heart rate has shown to be associated with risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases in some studies, but not in others. Increased heart rate has also been linked to causes of death other than cardiovascular. To clarify the role of heart rate as a predictor of death we studied its predictive value in a large population study. Design. A prospective population study with a follow-up time of 23 years. Subjects and methods. The study population comprised 5598 men and 5119 women 30±59 years of age on entry. Heart rate was measured from resting ECGs. Main outcome measure. Mortality from specified causes. Results. A total of 1848 men and 840 women died during the follow-up period. Increased heart rate was significantly associated with death from all causes, cardiovascular causes, and natural noncardiovascular, nonmalignant causes of death. Increased heart rate was associated with death from cancer in men with heart disease but not in men without heart disease on entry into the study. The increase in cardiovascular mortality with high heart rate was explained by the close association between heart rate and blood pressure. Adjustment for risk factors did not alter the significance of the association between increased heart rate and mortality from noncardiovascular causes. Conclusions. High heart rate is simple to observe clinically and a significant if nonspecific predictor of mortality. Increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases can be explained by association with high blood pressure. The increased mortality risk associated with high heart rate related mainly to a group of diseases of noncardiovascular or nonmalignant origin.

Diurnal variations in arousal: a naturalistic heart rate study in children with ADHD

“…However, further research is needed to validate our results in a larger sample with heart rate variability as a measure for autonomic function and to assess longer-term effects of these findings in children with ADHD. Higher resting heart rate may have a major impact on health outcomes as an association with higher morbidity and mortality from both cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular diseases has been described [21,45]. Also the long-term use of psychostimulants must be questioned if overall heart rate levels are 'truly' increased in children with ADHD.…”

Effects of trans- and n-3 unsaturated fatty acids on cardiovascular risk markers in healthy males. An 8 weeks dietary intervention study

“…The increase in heart rate in the TFA group corresponds to approximately 3 bpm. A high heart rate is associated with an increased cardiovascular mortality (Kannel et al, 1987;Greenland et al, 1999;Reunanen et al, 2000). Furthermore, HRV indices associated with vagal cardiac modulation (RMSSD, pNN50, pNN6%) (Camm et al, 1996) were attenuated, although not significantly, after dietary supplementation with TFA.…”

Screening for atherosclerosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Comparison of two in vivo tests of vascular function

“…Increased resting heart rate has also been identified as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in prospective population studies (47)(48)(49)(50). The mechanism by which this operates is not known, but it may reflect physical fitness.…”