Effect of Resting Heart Rate on All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Events According to Age.

Objectives: To examine whether the association between resting heart rate (RHR) and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events differs according to age.

Design: Prospective cohort.

Setting: Community in Beijing, China.

Participants: Individuals aged 40 and older without cardiovascular disease at baseline (N = 6,209).

Measurements: Trained investigators interviewed participants using a standard questionnaire to obtain information on demographic characteristics, medical history and lifestyle risk factors in 1991. RHR was evaluated according to quartiles (<72, 72-76, 76-84, ≥84 beats/min). Cox regression models were used to assess the associations between RHR and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events.

Results: During a mean follow-up of 8.3 years, 840 subjects died, and 676 experienced a cardiovascular event. Higher RHR was significantly associated with all-cause mortality (P trend < .001) and cardiovascular events (P trend = .002) in older (≥60) but not younger (<60) participants (both P trend > .05). There were significant modifying effects of age on the association between RHR and all-cause mortality (P interaction < .001) and cardiovascular events (P interaction =.002). Similar results were observed after exclusion of individuals who died (n = 100) or had a cardiovascular event (n = 45) during the first 2 years of follow-up.

Conclusion: High RHR appears to be an independent determinant of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events in older but not younger individuals.