Association of resting heart rate with cardiovascular function: a cross-sectional study in 522 Finnish subjects.
BACKGROUND
High resting heart rate (HR) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in general populations, possibly due to elevated blood pressure (BP) or sympathetic over-activity. We studied the association of resting HR with cardiovascular function, and examined whether the hemodynamics remained similar during passive head-up tilt.


METHODS
Hemodynamics were recorded using whole-body impedance cardiography and continuous radial pulse wave analysis in 522 subjects (age 20-72 years, 261 males) without medication influencing HR or BP, or diagnosed diabetes, coronary artery, renal, peripheral arterial, or cerebrovascular disease. Correlations were calculated, and results analysed according to resting HR tertiles.


RESULTS
Higher resting HR was associated with elevated systolic and diastolic BP, lower stroke volume but higher cardiac output and work, and lower systemic vascular resistance, both supine and upright (p < 0.05 for all). Subjects with higher HR also showed lower supine and upright aortic pulse pressure and augmentation index, and increased resting pulse wave velocity (p < 0.001). Upright stroke volume decreased less in subjects with highest resting HR (p < 0.05), and cardiac output decreased less in subjects with lowest resting HR (p < 0.009), but clear hemodynamic differences between the tertiles persisted both supine and upright.


CONCLUSIONS
Supine and upright hemodynamic profile associated with higher resting HR is characterized by higher cardiac output and lower systemic vascular resistance. Higher resting HR was associated with reduced central wave reflection, in spite of elevated BP and arterial stiffness. The increased cardiac workload, higher BP and arterial stiffness, may explain why higher HR is associated with less favourable prognosis in populations.
School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere FIN-33014, Finland. jenni.k.koskela@uta.fi.
Jenni K
JK
Koskela
Anna
A
Tahvanainen
Antti
A
Haring
Antti J
AJ
Tikkakoski
Erkki
E
Ilveskoski
Jani
J
Viitala
Miia H
MH
Leskinen
Terho
T
Lehtimäki
Mika Ap
MA
Kähönen
Tiit
T
Kööbi
Onni
O
Niemelä
Jukka T
JT
Mustonen
Ilkka H
IH
Pörsti
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult