REVIEW   

Minerva Medica 2021 February;112(1):130-43

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4806.20.06695-1

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Heart rate as a predictor of cardiovascular risk

Gino SERAVALLE ¹ ✉, Fosca QUARTI TREVANO ², Guido GRASSI ²

¹ Department of Cardiology, Italian Auxological Institute S. Luca Hospital, Milan, Italy; ² Department of Health Science, Milano-Bicocca University, Milan, Italy

Heart rate is a parameter that is very easy to measure and is widely used both in clinic and during daily life activities. Its value gained more relevance with the evidence, in prospective studies and meta-analysis, of association between elevated heart rate values and diseases and outcomes.The increased knowledge of physiological mechanisms of heart rate control and the pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for its dysfunction allows to identify the cut-off value of normalcy providing info for non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments to reduce the cardiovascular risk both in general population and in pathophysiological conditions. This paper overviews the knowledges of the role of resting heart rate as predictor of cardiovascular risk.

KEY WORDS: Heart rate; Risk factors; Autonomic nervous system; Cardiovascular diseases