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Aims: High resting heart rate (RHR), one abnormal manifestation of autonomic nervous system, is associated with metabolic disorders. However, the association between RHR and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components remains controversial. We aimed to explore the link between these two parameters. Materials and Methods: The study included 6589 Dong adults (1434 cases of MetS) from the cross‐sectional survey of the China Multi‐Ethnic Cohort Study. Logistic regression model was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and assess the association between RHR and MetS, clustered metabolic risk, and MetS components. Restricted cubic splines model was used to evaluate the dose response association. Results: A positive association existed between RHR and MetS, and people in the highest RHR quartile had a higher MetS risk (OR 1.75 [95% CI 1.42–2.15]) than those in the lowest quartile. The clustered metabolic risk associated with RHR (p < 0.05). Furthermore, RHR was related to elevated blood pressure (BP), elevated triglycerides (TG) and elevated fasting plasma glucose (FPG); the ORs (95% CIs) for the highest versus lowest RHR quartile were 2.06 (1.75–2.43), 1.37 (1.17–1.62) and 2.53 (2.04–3.14), respectively. Similar results were found in sensitivity and subgroup analyses. Also, non‐linear dose response association existed between RHR and MetS and elevated levels of BP, TG and FPG (p < 0.001). Conclusions: RHR was related to increased risk of MetS, three MetS components (elevated BP, elevated TG and elevated FPG) and the clustered metabolic risk. RHR may be a useful indicator for MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ischemic stroke is a major public health problem and a main cause of death in China. However, how resting heart rate may associate with ischemic stroke among patients with hypertension remains unclear.Objective: To investigate the association between resting heart rate and ischemic stroke among elderlies with hypertension in China.Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of elderlies with hypertension who aged ≥60 years and were free from a stroke at baseline. Resting heart rate at baseline was treated as both continuous and categorical variable. Hazard ratios for ischemic stroke were estimated by multivariate Cox proportional hazards models.Results: A total of 3071 elderlies with hypertension [1369 (44.6%) men, an average age of 71.3 ± 7.1 years] were enrolled, and 182 cases of ischemic stroke occurred during a mean follow-up period of 5.5 years. Multivariate Cox regression showed that every 10 bpm increment in resting heart rate elevated the risk of ischemic stroke by 21% (95%CI: 1.05, 1.73; P = 0.018). After adjusting for confounders, resting heart rate ≥90 bpm significantly associated with the risk of ischemic stroke (HR: 1.35, 95% CI = 1.16, 2.78) when using the resting heart rate <60 bpm as a referent. Subgroup analysis showed that the relation between resting heart rate and risk of ischemic stroke was seem to be stronger in female (HR: 1.32 vs 1.11), those with uncontrolled hypertension (HR: 1.32 vs 1.12), people with combined diabetes and hypertension (HR: 1.31 vs 1.12), people with overweight (HR: 1.39 vs 1.02) and those who aged >75 (HR: 1.33 vs 1.11). Smoothing spline plots suggested the optimal resting heart rate for the lowest risk of ischemic stroke was between 60 and 80 bpm.Conclusions: In Chinese elderly hypertensive patients, elevated resting heart rate was an independent predictor of ischemic stroke, and the optimal resting heart rate was around 70 bpm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fast resting heart rate (RHR) is easily neglected in clinical practice of hypertension treatment. Aims: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of fast RHR and associated factors in hypertensive and normotensive individuals. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from two cross-sectional studies conducted in China. A total of 6763 hypertensive patients and 2807 age and sex-matched normotensive subjects with complete data on resting electrocardiogram and medical history were included. Fast RHR was defined as RHR > 85 bpm. Results: The prevalence of fast RHR was higher in hypertensive patients as compared with the normotensives (14.4% vs 7.1%, P < 0.01). In both hypertensive and normotensive subjects, fast RHR appeared as a "U-type" distribution as aging and a "inverted J type" trend as body mass index (BMI) increasing. Multivariate regression analysis showed that fast RHR was associated with age >65 or <25 years old (OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.08–1.61), BMI <18.5 kg/m2 (OR = 2.94, 95%CI 1.47–5.87) and hypercholesterolemia (OR = 1.30, 95%CI 1.10–1.53) in hypertensive patients. Fast RHR in the normotensives was associated with female (OR = 1.78, 95%CI 1.27–2.48), pre-hypertensive state (OR = 2.38, 95%CI 1.61–3.52), and rural area origin (OR = 1.50, 95%CI 1.01–2.42). Stroke and diabetes conferred closer relevance to fast RHR in both hypertensive (OR = 1.31, 95%CI 1.02–1.69 and OR 2.26, 95%CI 1.60–3.21) and normotensive individuals (OR = 2.67, 95%CI 1.36–5.21 and OR = 2.77, 95%CI 1.47–5.23). Conclusion: Fast RHR might be common in patients with hypertension. Prior stroke and diabetes history is common associated with fast RHR. Other factors associated with fast RHR seem to be different between hypertensive patients and normotensive subjects. Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index; CI: Confidence Interval; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; ECG: electrocardiogram; OR: odd ratio; RHR: resting heart rate; SBP: systolic blood pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We evaluated change in resting heart rate (RHR) and its impact on prognosis in Chinese coronary artery disease (CAD) patients treated with bisoprolol, and also assessed drug safety and tolerability.Methods: This phase IV, single arm observational study was a sub-study of the BISO-CAD study conducted across 20 hospitals in China between October 2011 and July 2015 with follow-up at 6, 12 and 18 months after baseline. The primary endpoint was occurrence of composite cardiac events.Results: A total of 663 CAD patients (baseline RHR 75.47 ± 6.62 bpm) were enrolled in the intent-to-treat (ITT) set, and 513 patients were included in the efficacy analysis (EA) set. In the ITT set, the risk and the number of composite cardiac events in patients with mean RHR 69-74 bpm were significantly higher than in the <65 bpm group (ITT: estimate 1.03 ± 0.47, p = .029). The incidence of the composite cardiac endpoint was not affected by continuous mean RHR (p = .5070). RHR significantly decreased from baseline to 18 months, most obviously in the first 6 months (p < .0001). Ejection fraction and fractional shortening significantly improved in both the ITT and EA sets. An average RHR of 69-74 bpm had a significant effect on admission to hospital for acute coronary syndrome in the ITT (estimate 1.10, HR 3.004, p = .0196) and EA (estimate 1.26, HR 3.526, p = .0132) groups. Seven (1.1%) patients reported drug related adverse events.Conclusion: Reduction in RHR with bisoprolol lowered the incidence of composite cardiac events along with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Although previous studies have reported an association between resting heart rate (RHR) and cancer mortality, the association is contradictory. The relationship between RHR and disease-specific mortality has not been explored in the Chinese population. We examined this relationship in a rural adult Chinese population from a cohort study with a 6-year follow-up. Subjects and methods: The RHR of a cohort of 20,069 participants was measured between July-August of 2007 and July-August of 2008, and 17,151 participants (85.5 %) were followed up between July-August of 2013 and July -October of 2014. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs) for deaths due to all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, cancer, and other causes in RHR groups. Results: Males and females with RHR ≥ 90 showed the highest all-cause mortality (33,27 and 1,226/100,000 person-years) and adjusted HR for all-cause deaths-2.20 (95 % CI 1.64-2.93) and 1.99 (1.43-2.77). A similar association was observed for deaths due to CVD, stroke and cancer (except for females), and other causes of mortality. Conclusions: Elevated RHR may be an independent marker of all-cause, CVD and other causes of death for both sexes and stroke and cancer deaths for males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resting heart rate (RHR) is an accessible index of sympathetic activity. The objective of this study was to assess the associations between blood pressure (BP) and RHR in children with different waist circumferences (WCs). The data of the Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health in 2010 were used. A total of 91,762 participates aged 9 to 18 years with complete records were included. RHR was categorised into quintile groups and WC was stratified into small (<−1.035), medium (≥−1.035 and <1.035) and large (≥1.035) groups respectively, after they were converted into age- and sex-specific z-score. Multivariate linear regression revealed that the association between RHR z-score and BP was similar before and after WC was adjusted for. With 1 standard deviation variation in RHR, BP changed from 2.22 (95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.51, 2.93) to 3.58 mmHg (95 % CI: 2.54, 4.62) in small WC group and 1.83 (95 % CI: 1.10, 2.56) to 4.23 mmHg (95 % CI: 3.38, 5.09) in large WC group respectively. Conclusions: This study revealed that BP was positively associated with RHR among children with different WCs, which implied the positive association between sympathetic activity and BP in children regardless of the amount of abdominal fat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increasing knowledge of social and biological risk factors for callous-unemotional (CU) traits, relatively less is known about how these two sets of risk factors combine to affect these traits. The current longitudinal study investigated pathways from parenting style to CU traits via resting heart rate in a three-year project. Parents of 382 children completed the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire at Time 1 (children Mean age = 9.06, SD = 0.94, range = 7-11 years), with the heart rate data collected at Time 2 (M = 10.16, SD = 0.93, range = 8-13 years) and CU traits assessed at Time 3 (M = 11.06, SD = 0.94, range = 9-13 years). We found that parenting style and CU traits were associated with resting heart rate, and that structural equation modeling showed resting heart rate to partially mediate the effect of parenting style on CU traits. Specifically, higher levels of authoritarian parenting were associated with lower resting heart rate, which in turn was linked to higher level of CU traits. On the contrary, children in the context of authoritative parenting showed relatively higher resting heart rate, which was predictive of lower CU traits. Overall, findings have implications for understanding the etiology of CU traits in children and developing effective prevention programs for children with affective deficits., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

While the neurotoxic effects of heavy metals at even low levels have been well-studied, few studies have examined the cardiovascular effects of heavy metals on resting heart rate and these have focused on adult populations. The present study aimed to examine the association between low-level environmental lead and mercury exposure and resting heart rate in community adolescents. As part of the China Jintan Cohort Study, 532 adolescents aged 12 years (SD = 0.6) were tested for blood levels of lead (BLL) and mercury (BML) and resting heart rate (RHR). Generalized linear models were conducted to test the relationship between BLL and BML and RHR, controlling for children's sex, age, and socioeconomic status. Analyses were clustered at the preschool level when the children were recruited to adjust for standard error. The mean (SD) BLL and BML were 3.14 (SD = 1.19) μg/dL and 1.26 (SD = 0.68) μg/L at age 12 years, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, we found a significant interaction between BML and BLL in predicting RHR in boys (B = -1.27, SE = 0.49, p < 0.01, n = 289). We created BLL and BML groups in boys based on median cut-offs. Boys in the High BLL/High BML group had significantly lower RHR (mean = 84.22 beats per minute [bpm], SD = 8.77, n = 61) than boys in the Low BLL/Low BML group (mean = 89.03 bpm, SD = 10.75, n = 69; p < 0.05). BML and BLL did not interact to predict RHR in girls (B = -0.18, SE = 0.88, p > 0.05, n = 242). Combined high BLL and BML were associated with low RHR in community adolescent boys. Low RHR is an indication of chronic under-arousal and has been implicated in psychopathology, particularly for externalizing behavior. Our findings may stimulate further communication and research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies have shown that an elevated heart rate is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events. This study aimed to prospectively examine the relationship between resting heart rate (RHR) and all-cause mortality in Chinese patients with hypertension., Design: An observational, prospective and population-based cohort study., Setting: The Kailuan cohort study was conducted in Tangshan City in northern China., Participants: We enrolled 46 561 patients who did not receive beta-blocker treatment and were diagnosed with hypertension for the first time during an employee health examination in Kailuan Group in 2006 and 2008., Outcome: The primary outcome of this study was all-cause mortality., Methods: The patients in this study were followed for 9.25±1.63 years. All patients were followed up face to face every 2 years. According to the distribution of RHR in the study population, RHR was categorised into five groups on the basis of quintiles: Q1: RHR ≤68 beats per minute (bpm); Q2: RHR >68 and ≤72 bpm; Q3: RHR >72 and ≤76 bpm; Q4: RHR >76 and ≤82 bpm; Q5: RHR >82 bpm. Cox proportional hazards model, which was adjusted for traditional risk factors, was used., Results: During follow-up, 4751 deaths occurred. After adjustment for potential confounders, restricted cubic spline regression showed that the risk of all-cause mortality increased with heart rate. In multivariate Cox regression analyses adjusted for age, sex and major covariates, the HR for all-cause mortality was 1.31 (95% CI 1.27 to 1.33) in the highest quintile group (Q5) compared with the lowest quintile group (Q1)., Conclusion: An increase in RHR is a long-term risk factor of all-cause mortality in Chinese patients with hypertension., Trial Registration Number: ChiCTR-TNC-11001489., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Aims: Observational studies indicated that resting heart rate (RHR) was associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) risk; however, it remains unclear whether the association between RHR and DM is causal. We aimed to examine whether there was causal association of RHR with DM risk., Methods: A prospective study including 16,201 middle-aged and older Chinese (7031 males and 9170 females) derived from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort was performed. Cox proportional hazard regression models were conducted to estimate the associations between RHR and incident DM risk. In 7481 participants, 65 single nucleotide polymorphisms related to RHR were genotyped. A genetic risk score (GRS) of RHR was calculated based on the RHR-associated variants. The causal associations of RHR with DM risk were investigated by Mendelian randomization analysis., Results: During a mean (SD) follow-up of 4.5 (0.5) years, 1110 diabetes were identified. Compared with the referential RHR group (≤ 60 beats per minute [bpm]), individuals with RHR > 80 bpm have a higher incident diabetes risk, with a hazard ratio of 1.40 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.88). With per SD increase in the weighted genetic risk score, the resting heart rate increased by 0.71 bpm (95% CI 0.49-0.93). By using the GRS to estimate the unconfounded effect, we found that higher resting heart rate did not have a causal effect on diabetes risk (OR 1.00 [95% CI 0.95-1.05])., Conclusions: The present study supported a positive but not a causal association of RHR with incident diabetes risk. More studies are needed to verify our findings.

Uncertainty remains regarding the association between resting heart rate (RHR) with hypertension and stroke because of limited and inconsistent data. We assessed the association between RHR, hypertension, and stroke. In this cross-sectional study, 14 677 participants from the China Hypertension Survey study were analyzed. The history of stroke was conducted by questionnaires. RHR was measured by the standardized electronic monitors. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between RHR, hypertension, and stroke. Moreover, a generalized additive model (GAM) and smooth curve fitting (penalized spline method) were conducted to assess the association between RHR and stroke in different status of hypertension. Overall, each 10 beats per minute (bpm) increase in RHR was associated with an 18% increased prevalence of stroke (P = 0.017). Subjects with RHR > 80 bpm were associated with a higher prevalence of stroke (OR = 1.47; 95% CI, 1.08-2.01) compared with those with RHR ≤ 80 bpm. Similarly, hypertensives had a higher prevalence of stroke than normotensives (OR = 3.76; 95% CI, 2.39-5.92). Hypertensives with RHR > 80 bpm had the highest prevalence of stroke compared with their counterparts (OR = 5.47; 95% CI, 3.13-9.56). The fully adjusted smooth curve fitting presented a linear association between RHR and stroke among participants with hypertension, but almost horizontal association among participants without hypertension. In conclusion, elevated RHR and hypertension were independently and jointly associated with the increased prevalence of stroke. These findings suggested that elevated RHR was associated with increased prevalence of stroke especially among hypertensives., (©2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background and Aims: Elevated resting heart rate (RHR) is associated with risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the association of change in RHR (ΔRHR) and incident T2DM is not fully elucidated. We aimed to assess the dose-response association between 6-year ΔRHR and T2DM., Methods and Results: A total of 12155 non-T2DM participants ≥18 years old were enrolled during 2007-2008 and followed up during 2013-2014. ΔRHR was calculated by subtracting the baseline RHR from the RHR value at 6-year follow-up. Age-, sex-, and RHR-specific relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the effect of ΔRHR on incident T2DM were calculated by using modified Poisson regression models. As compared with ΔRHR of 0 beats/min, the adjusted risk of T2DM was significantly increased with RHR increment and reduced with RHR reduction. ΔRHR was positively associated with future risk of T2DM [RR per unit increase: 1.03 (1.03-1.04)]. As compared with stable change in RHR group (-5<ΔRHR<5 beats/min), for ΔRHR ≤ -10 beats/min, -10<ΔRHR ≤ -5 beats/min, 5≤ΔRHR<10 beats/min, and ΔRHR ≥10 beats/min groups, the pooled adjusted RR (95% CI) of T2DM was 0.69 (0.55-0.86), 0.90 (0.73-1.11), 1.31 (1.07-1.61), and 1.90 (1.59-2.26), respectively. This significant association still existed on subgroup analyses based on age, sex, and baseline RHR and sensitivity analyses., Conclusions: Dynamic RHR change was significantly associated with incident T2DM. Our study suggests that RHR may be a non-invasive clinical indicator for interventions aiming to reduce incident T2DM in the general population., (Copyright © 2018 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The study aimed to assess whether preoperative resting heart rate could be a risk factor for cardiopulmonary complications (CPCs) after lung cancer resection., Methods: Eligible consecutive patients who underwent resection surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at Ningbo NO.2 Hospital between May, 2010 and July, 2015 were included. The demographic, clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters were compared in patients with or without CPCs within postoperative 30 days. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between CPCs and risk factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was utilized for the predictive role of preoperative resting heart rate for CPCs., Results: One hundred eighty participants were enrolled into the final analysis and 42 of them had an established diagnosis of CPCs within postoperative 30 days. Elevated preoperative resting heart rate was an independent risk factor for postoperative CPCs (OR: 4.48, 95% CI: 1.17-18.42, P = 0.021) by the multivariate logistic regression analysis. ROC curve analysis indicated elevated resting heart rate as a predictor for CPCs with a cut-off value of 86 beats/min (AUC: 0.813, specificity: 80.95%, sensitivity: 72.46%, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Elevated preoperative resting heart rate was associated with an increased risk of postoperative CPCs in patients after resection for lung cancer.

Background: Studies have demonstrated an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)-associated death (CVD death) with increased resting heart rate (RHR); however, whether the association is consistent in rural Chinese with hypertension and normotension is unknown. We examined the association of RHR and CVD death by hypertension and normotension status in rural Chinese people., Methods: Baseline data for 20,069 participants ≥18 years old were collected during July to August of 2007 and July to August of 2008; 17,151 (85.5%) participants were followed up in July to August of 2013 and July to October of 2014. The association of RHR and CVD death was determined by Cox proportional hazards regression., Results: During a mean of 5.88 years (100,889 person-years) of follow-up, we recorded 479 CVD deaths (309 in hypertensive participants). CVD death increased significantly with increasing RHR, beginning from 80 beats per minute (bpm), for hypertensive and normotensive participants. After adjusting for pulse pressure and other covariates, for hypertensive participants, risk of CVD death was increased with RHR 80-89 and ≥90bpm. However, for normotensive participants, risk of CVD death was increased with only RHR≥90bpm., Conclusions: Risk of CVD death was associated with elevated RHR for both hypertensive and normotensive rural Chinese, and for hypertensive participants, even slightly elevated RHR was associated with CVD death., (Copyright © 2016 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Elevated resting heart rate predicts poor cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes. Atherosclerosis may be a mediator linking this relationship. In a Chinese population, we investigated whether resting heart rate was associated with carotid atherosclerosis as indicated by elevated carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and presence of carotid plaque., Methods: A total of 1557 participants older than 50 years old from a community-based population without known cardiovascular diseases were included. All participants provided detailed lifestyle and medical information, and blood samples for biochemical measurements. The participants were categorized according to resting heart rate quartiles (<67, 67-73, 74-81, >81 beats per minute [bpm]). CIMT and presence of carotid plaque were determined using B-mode ultrasonography. Elevated CIMT was defined as the upper quartile of CIMT., Results: We observed positively graded associations between resting heart rate quartiles and carotid atherosclerosis. Participants with resting heart rates higher than 81 bpm had an odds ratio of 2.82 (95% confidence interval 1.92-4.13) for elevated CIMT, and an odds ratio of 2.00 (1.36-2.92) for carotid plaque, compared to participants with resting heart rates lower than 67 bmp. Each 10-bpm increase in resting heart rate was associated with an odds ratio of 1.47 (1.29-1.68) for elevated CIMT and an odds ratio of 1.40 (1.23-1.60) for carotid plaque. The associations were independent of conventional cardiovascular risk factors., Conclusions: Elevated resting heart rate was strongly and independently associated with carotid atherosclerosis in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population. Atherosclerosis may be a potential mediator between resting heart rate and adverse cardiovascular outcomes., (Copyright © 2015 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Elevated resting heart rate (RHR) has been shown to be a risk marker for cardiovascular disease. Results from studies on the effects of RHR in large arteries are limited to the functional changes of those arteries, while the association between RHR and aortic diameter remains largely understudied., Methods: This was a cross sectional study of hypertensive Chinese adults from rural areas. The maximum infrarenal aortic diameter (maxIAD) from renal arteries to the iliac bifurcation was obtained by ultrasound. MaxIADs in different RHR groups were compared in males and females separately because of the significant differences between sexes. Multiple regression analysis was used to determinate the correlation between RHR and maxIAD. Further interactions between three factors (BMI, smoking, and anti-hypertensive regimens) and RHR for maxIAD were examined using subgroup analysis., Results: 19,200 subjects were enrolled in the study, with an average age of 64.8±7.4 years and 61.6% females. Only 22 cases (0.11%) were detected with AAA, with males (n = 17) presenting a higher AAA incidence than females (n = 5). In subjects ≥65 years, there were 18 (0.19%) AAA, and 15 (83.3%) had a history of smoking. In the total subjects, the mean maxIAD ranged from 15.7±2.1 mm to 15.2±2.2 mm as RHR changed from the lowest quartile to the highest (≥84 bpm) in males, with a similar tendency observed in females. The correlation coefficient of RHR on maxIAD was -0.17 in males and -0.12 in females. Further subgroup analysis revealed that smoking exaggerated the correlation between RHR and maxIAD, but only in females., Conclusions: A low AAA incidence was observed in this hypertensive Chinese population. There was a negative association between RHR and maxIAD, potentially exaggerated by smoking, especially in females., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is associated with an increased risk of cardiac insufficiency, which possibly leads to heart failure. However, the relationship between resting heart rate and NT-proBNP is unclear., Objective: This study focuses on this relativity between resting heart rate and plasma NT-proBNP levels in a surveyed community-based population., Methods: We evaluated the relativity between resting heart rate and plasma levels of NT-proBNP in 1,567 participants (mean age 61.0 years, range 21-96 years) from a community-based population in Beijing, People's Republic of China., Results: In patients with high resting heart rate (≥75 beats/min), NT-proBNP was higher than in those having low resting heart rate (<75 beats/min). In multiple linear stepwise regression analysis, plasma NT-proBNP was associated with resting heart rate (partial correlation coefficient, 0.82; 95% confidence interval, 0.18-1.51; P=0.011). A subsequent subgroup analysis revealed that the association between resting heart rate and plasma NT-proBNP was strengthened in subjects over 60 years old (partial correlation coefficient 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 0.49-2.36; P=0.031); while the relativity between resting heart rate and plasma NT-proBNP was not emerged in the younger subgroup (<60 years old)., Conclusions: Resting heart rate was associated with plasma NT-proBNP in the elderly, which indicated a relationship between resting heart rate and cardiac function damage.