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Heart rate as a risk factor in hypertensive individuals. The Italian TensioPulse Study
E Farinaro1, S Stranges, G Guglielmucci
1Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Preventive, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy.
Insights
Elevated heart rate (HR) is linked to higher blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Lifestyle changes may help reduce cardiovascular disease risk before medication.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Hypertension Research
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Heart rate (HR) is increasingly recognized as a potential independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
- Previous research on HR and CVD risk was limited by small sample sizes and general populations.
- This study focuses on a large cohort of hypertensive patients to investigate the HR-CVD relationship.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the predictive role of heart rate as an independent risk factor for hypertension and CVD.
- To examine the association between heart rate, blood pressure, and cardiovascular endpoints in hypertensive individuals.
- To analyze the relationship between heart rate and other cardiovascular risk factors in a large hypertensive cohort.
Main Methods:
- The Italian TensioPulse Study analyzed a large cohort of 38,145 hypertensive patients.
- Investigated the relationship between heart rate (HR) and cardiovascular risk factors.
- Examined correlations between HR, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP).
Main Results:
- A significant positive correlation was observed between heart rate and both SBP (r=0.21) and DBP (r=0.21 in men, r=0.24 in women).
- Higher heart rate, SBP, and DBP values were associated with smoking and alcohol consumption.
- Over one-third of hypertensive patients exhibited a relatively high heart rate.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest heart rate is a significant factor in hypertensive patients.
- High heart rate prevalence necessitates consideration in hypertension management and prevention programs.
- Lifestyle modifications addressing factors like smoking and drinking should be prioritized for CVD risk reduction.
Background And Aim:
The predictive role of heart rate as a new, independent risk factor for the development of high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has been investigated in recent years and many studies have demonstrated a significant and independent association between heart rate, blood pressure and cardiovascular (CV) endpoints. Various pathogenic pathways can be postulated to explain this association and the role of heart rate as a plausible risk factor. Previous studies have been limited to the examination of small samples of general populations. By contrast, our study is based on a large cohort (38,145) of hypertensive patients.
Methods And Results:
The Italian TensioPulse Study is a detailed investigation of the relation between heart rate (HR) and other CV risk factors in a large cohort of hypertensives. A strong, positive relationship was found between heart rate and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure: r = 0.21 for SBP in both sexes, and r = 0.21 and r = 0.24 for DBP in men and women respectively. Smoking and drinking habits seem to be associated with higher heart rate, SBP and DBP values.
Conclusions:
These findings and the observation that more than one out of three hypertensives had a relatively high heart rate could assist in the organisation of prevention programmes. Correction of certain lifestyle factors must precede the decision to use drugs to reduce the global CVD risk.