TY - JOUR
T1 - Heart rate and cardiovascular protection
AU - Caetano, Joana
AU - Delgado Alves, José
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/5/1
Y1 - 2015/5/1
N2 - Recent large epidemiological studies have confirmed that an elevated resting heart rate is an independent predictor of cardiovascular and overall mortality in the general population as well as in patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease and chronic heart failure. Pathophysiological studies indicate that a higher heart rate has detrimental effects that favor myocardial ischemia, ventricular arrhythmias, as well as an increase in vascular oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis progression. Benefits of heart rate lowering drugs, such as beta-blockers and ivabradine, in reducing overall and cardiovascular-related mortality, have been demonstrated particularly in patients with coronary heart disease and heart failure. However, despite these evidences, resting heart rate is still an overlooked cardiovascular risk factor.
AB - Recent large epidemiological studies have confirmed that an elevated resting heart rate is an independent predictor of cardiovascular and overall mortality in the general population as well as in patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease and chronic heart failure. Pathophysiological studies indicate that a higher heart rate has detrimental effects that favor myocardial ischemia, ventricular arrhythmias, as well as an increase in vascular oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis progression. Benefits of heart rate lowering drugs, such as beta-blockers and ivabradine, in reducing overall and cardiovascular-related mortality, have been demonstrated particularly in patients with coronary heart disease and heart failure. However, despite these evidences, resting heart rate is still an overlooked cardiovascular risk factor.
KW - Atherosclerosis
KW - Autonomic dysfunction
KW - Cardiovascular risk factors
KW - Endothelial dysfunction
KW - Heart rate variability
KW - Resting heart rate
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84928829522&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ejim.2015.02.009
DO - 10.1016/j.ejim.2015.02.009
M3 - Review article
C2 - 25704330
AN - SCOPUS:84928829522
SN - 0953-6205
VL - 26
SP - 217
EP - 222
JO - European Journal Of Internal Medicine
JF - European Journal Of Internal Medicine
IS - 4
ER -