title: [Heart rate: a risk factor or an epiphenomenon?].
abstract: The role of heart rate (HR) as an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality remains controversial. Direct evidence supporting a causal association between HR and prognosis is still lacking even if such relation appears plausible and may be inferred from epidemiological studies and clinical trials with HR lowering agents. The introduction of If current blocking agents, namely ivabradine, has offered the novel and unique opportunity to directly and exclusively interfere with HR and, thus, to validate the presence of a causal relationship between HR and prognosis. The BEAUTIFUL trial has recently confirmed that HR is a powerful negative prognostic predictor in patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Particularly, subjects with a resting HR >70 b/min showed an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events. In these patients, HR reduction with ivabradine was associated with a reduction in major cardiac ischemic events, though not mortality. Further data will become available with the SHIFT trial in which patients with heart failure and HR > or =70 b/min are included and reduction in cardiovascular mortality and heart failure hospitalizations is the primary endpoint.
authors.affiliation: Cardiologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale ed Applicata, Università degli Studi e Spedali Civili, Brescia. metramarco@libero.it
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metra
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zacà
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bugatti
authors.forename: Livio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dei Cas
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001552:Benzazepines / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015331:Cohort Studies; D054815:Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D000077550:Ivabradine; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D011379:Prognosis; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D001552:Benzazepines; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D054815:Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels; D000077550:Ivabradine