Elevated resting heart rate is associated with the metabolic syndrome.
BACKGROUND
Increased resting heart rate (RHR) may be associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity. Our aim was to explore the possibility that increased RHR is associated with the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a sample of apparently healthy individuals and those with cardiovascular risk factors.


METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional analysis in a large sample of apparently healthy individuals who attended a general health screening program and agreed to participate in our survey. We analyzed a sample of 7706 individuals (5106 men and 2600 women) with 13.2% of men and 8.9% of the women fulfilling the criteria for the MetS. The participants were divided into quintiles of resting heart rate. Multiple adjusted odds ratio was calculated for having the MetS in each quintile compared to the first.


RESULTS
The multi-adjusted odds for the presence of the MetS increased gradually from an arbitrarily defined figure of 1.0 in the lowest RHR quintile (<60 beats per minute (BPM) in men and <64 BPM in women) to 4.1 and 4.2 in men and women respectively in the highest one (>or=80 BPM in men and >or=82 BPM in women).


CONCLUSIONS
Raised resting heart rate is significantly associated with the presence of MetS in a group of apparently healthy individuals and those with an atherothrombotic risk. The strength of this association supports the potential presence of one or more shared pathophysiological mechanisms for both RHR and the MetS.
Rogowski
Ori
O
Department of Medicine D & E and The Institute for Special Medical Examinations (MALRAM), Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel. orir@tasmc.health.gov.il
Steinvil
Arie
A
Berliner
Shlomo
S
Cohen
Michael
M
Saar
Nili
N
Ben-Bassat
Orit Kliuk
OK
Shapira
Itzhak
I
D000328:Adult; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors