Association between resting heart rate and arterial stiffness in Korean adults

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 (Q1 ≤ 56, Q2 = 57-62, Q3 = 63-68, Q4 ≥ 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, 7-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.