Letter to the EditorResting heart rate in relation to blood pressure: Results from the World Health Organization—Cardiovascular Disease and Alimentary Comparison Study
Introduction
Epidemiological studies have reported that increased heart rate (HR) is associated with cardiovascular mortality and even non-cardiovascular disease [1], [2], [3], [4]. However, only in recent years, has interest been aroused by an awareness that the HR–CVD association may be explained by the association between heart rate and blood pressure (BP) [4], [5]. Despite these observations, the importance of associations between HR and BP is still poorly recognized in research and clinical practice [5]. Furthermore, few studies that have tested this association applied a sample size big enough from an international cooperative study. The World Health Organization—Cardiovascular Disease and Alimentary Comparison (CARDIAC) Study provides an opportunity with us to examine this association between HR and BP in middle-aged populations [6], [7], [8], [9], [10].
Section snippets
Study design and populations
The CARDIAC Study, with a multi-center cross-sectional study design, started in mid 1985, and continues at its phase II stage (e.g., MONALISA Study) [6], [10]. The CARDIAC Study was designed to examine the association between various dietary markers and BP (“Core study”) and between these factors and cardiovascular disease mortality rates (“Complete study”). We have published a series which reports on dietary biomarkers and BP, and dietary biomarkers in relation to deaths from coronary heart
Results
Table 1 shows the basic characteristics of 8541 (M: 4288, F: 4253) participants aged 48–56 years old by sex in 54 centers of the CARDIAC Study. Males had higher mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) than females (p < 0.01). However, females had higher mean body mass index (BMI), resting heart rate (HR) and prevalence of anti-hypertensive medication use than males (p < 0.01).
Participants with hypertension had significantly higher mean (SD) heart rates than those with normal blood
Discussion
The present study observes that elevated resting heart rates were significantly associated with increases in BP in a sample of more than 8500 participants aged 48–56 years old. Several prospective studies have reported resting heart rate be a risk predictor for certain specific-cause deaths, including CVD and non-CVD deaths including the Framingham Study, the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study, the NIPPONDATA80 Study, and others [4], [13], [14], [15], [16]. The mechanisms by which increased
Acknowledgement
The authors of this manuscript have certified that they comply with the Principles of Ethical Publishing in the International Journal of Cardiology [17].
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The association of resting heart rate with diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome in the Korean adult population: The fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
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Social Connections, Diabetes Mellitus, and Risk of Mortality among White and African-American Adults Aged 70 and Older: An Eight-Year Follow-up Study
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