title: Resting heart rate as a predictor of body weight gain in the early stage of hypertension.
abstract: We did a prospective study to investigate whether clinic heart rate (HR) and 24-h ambulatory HR were independent predictors of subsequent increase in body weight (BW) in young subjects screened for stage 1 hypertension. The study was conducted in 1,008 subjects from the Hypertension and Ambulatory Recording Venetia Study (HARVEST) followed for an average of 7 years. Ambulatory HR was obtained in 701 subjects. Data were adjusted for lifestyle factors and several confounders. During the follow-up BW increased by 2.1 ± 7.2 kg in the whole cohort. Both baseline clinic HR (P = 0.007) and 24-h HR (P = 0.013) were independent predictors of BMI at study end. In addition, changes in HR during the follow-up either measured in the clinic (P = 0.036) or with 24-h recording (P = 0.009) were independent associates of final BMI. In a multivariable Cox regression, baseline BMI (P < 0.001), male gender (P < 0.001), systolic blood pressure (BP) (P = 0.01), baseline clinic HR (P = 0.02), and follow-up changes in clinic HR (P < 0.001) were independent predictors of overweight (Ov) or obesity (Ob) at the end of the follow-up. Follow-up changes in ambulatory HR (P = 0.01) were also independent predictors of Ov or Ob. However, when both clinic and ambulatory HRs were included in the same Cox model, only baseline clinic HR and its change during the follow-up were independent predictors of outcome. In conclusion, baseline clinic HR and HR changes during the follow-up are independent predictors of BW gain in young persons screened for stage 1 hypertension suggesting that sympathetic nervous system activity may play a role in the development of Ob in hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. palatini@unipd.it
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Palatini
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mos
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santonastaso
authors.forename: Nello
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zanatta
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mormino
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saladini
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bortolazzi
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cozzio
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Garavelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D015430:Weight Gain