Abstract
Data from large epidemiological studies suggest that elevated heart rate is independently associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in patients with hypertension and in those with established cardiovascular disease. Clinical trial findings also suggestthatthe favourable effects of beta-blockers and other heart rate lowering agents in patients with acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failuremay be, at least in part,due to their heart rate-lowering effects. Contemporary clinical outcome prediction models such as the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) scorefor patients withacute coronary syndrome, includes admission heart rate as an independent risk factor. This articlecritically reviews the key epidemiologyconcerning heart rate and cardiovascular risk, potential mechanisms through which an elevatedresting heart rate may be disadvantageous and evaluates clinical trial outcomes associated with pharmacologicalreduction ofresting heart rate. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 215-223 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Cardiovascular Therapeutics |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 20 Jul 2012 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- Coronary artery disease
- Cardiovascular risk
- Beta-blockers
- Calcium channel blockers
- If channel blockers
- Angina
- Heart failure
