Adult ; Ankle Brachial Index ; Arteries/physiopathology* ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Blood Pressure ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Elasticity ; Female ; Heart Rate* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Peripheral Vascular Diseases/ethnology* ; Peripheral Vascular Diseases/physiopathology ; Pulsatile Flow ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Higher resting heart rate, a simple and useful indicator of autonomic balance and metabolic rate, has emerged as an independent predictor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
AIM: To determine the association between resting heart rate and arterial stiffness measured by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV).
METHODS: We examined the association between resting heart rate and baPWV in 641 Korean adults (366 men, 275 women) in a health examination program. A high baPWV was defined as greater than 1450 cm/s (>75th percentile). The odds ratios for high baPWVs were calculated using multivariable logistic regression analysis after adjusting for confounding variables across heart rate quartiles (Q1or=69 beats/min).
RESULTS: Age-adjusted baPWV mean values increased gradually with heart rate quartile (Q1=1281, Q2=1285, Q3=1354, Q4=1416 cm/s). The odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for high baPWVs in each heart rate quartile were 1.00, 1.28 (0.57-2.86), 2.63 (1.20-5.79) and 3.66 (1.66-8.05), respectively, after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, alcohol intake, exercise, body mass index, hypertension medication, diabetes medication, hyperlipidaemia medication, mean arterial blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, white blood cell count, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase and uric acid.
CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that a higher resting heart rate is independently associated with arterial stiffness. Accordingly, early detection of increased resting heart rate is important for preservation of arterial function and assessment of cardiovascular risk.