Characteristics of studies included in the meta-analysis
| Study | Country/region | Age, yr (sex) | No. patients (type of mortality) | Follow-up, yr | Resting heart rate assessment | Study quality* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillum et al., 199125 | US | 61.6 (men) | Men: 2774 (all-cause: 776; CVD: 373) | 10.1 | Palpation | 8 |
| 62.5 (women) | Women: 3221 (all-cause: 544; CVD: 265) | |||||
| Sandvik et al., 199326 | Norway | 49.7 (men) | 1960 (all-cause: 271; CVD: 144) | 16 | ECG | 7 |
| Mensink et al., 199727 | Germany | 40–80 (both) | Men: 1827 (all-cause: 205; CVD: 85) | 12 | ECG | 7 |
| Women: 2929 (all-cause: 207; CVD: 68) | ||||||
| Benetos et al., 199928 | France | 51.1 (men) | Men: 12 123 (all-cause: 2036; CVD: 664) | 18.2 | ECG | 7 |
| 52.1 (women) | Women: 7263 (all-cause: 610; CVD: 180) | |||||
| Greenland et al., 199929 | US | 39.8 (men) | Men: 18 787 (all-cause: 3384) | 22 | ECG | 9 |
| 40.1 (women) | Women: 14 994 (all-cause: 1693) | |||||
| Palatine et al., 199930 | US | 72.7 (men) | 763 (all-cause: 408; CVD: 200) | 12 | Palpation | 6 |
| Kristal-Boneh et al., 200031 | Israel | 45.6 (men) | 3537 (all-cause: 135; CVD: 57) | 8 | ECG | 6 |
| Reunanen et al., 200032 | Finland3 | 30–59 (both) | Men: 5598 (all-cause: 1848; CVD: 1033 | 23 | ECG | 7 |
| Women: 5119 (all-cause: 840; CVD: 426) | ||||||
| Nilsson et al., 200133 | Sweden | 49.6 (men) | Men: 22 444 (all-cause: 1902; CVD: 727) | 17 | A device while measuring BP | 9 |
| 43.7 (women) | Women: 10 902 (all-cause: 397; CVD: 85) | 12 | ||||
| Seccareccia et al., 200134 | Italy | 40–69 (men) | 2533 (all-cause: 350; CVD: 133) | 8.5 | ECG | 6 |
| Cheng et al., 200235 | US | 40.8 (men) | 27 459 (all-cause: 724; CVD: 205) | 13.0 | ECG | 8 |
| Kado et al., 200236 | US | 71.7 (women) | 9702 (all-cause: 1947) | 8.9 | Palpation | 6 |
| Chang et al., 200337 | US | 78 (women) | 942 (all-cause: not reported) | 3 | ECG | 5 |
| Hozawa et al., 200438 | Japan | 60.3 (both) | 1780 (CVD: not reported) | 10 | A device while measuring BP | 7 |
| Okamura et al., 200439 | Japan | 49.6 (men) | Men: 4640 (all-cause: 875; CVD: 291) | 16.5 | ECG | 8 |
| 50.0 (women) | Women: 5906 (all-cause: 731; CVD: 276) | |||||
| Fisher et al., 200640 | Australia | 83.2 (both) | 179 (all-cause: 97) | 5 | A device while measuring BP | 5 |
| Savonen et al., 200641 | Finland | 54 (men) | 1378 (all-cause: 146; CVD: 56) | 11.4 | ECG | 8 |
| Theobald et al., 200742 | Sweden | 37.6 (men) | Men: 490 (all-cause: 120) | 26 | Palpation | 7 |
| 33.3 (women) | Women: 499 (all-cause: 84) | |||||
| Adabag et al., 200843 | US | 36 (men) | 12 555 (all-cause: 4642) | 25 | ECG | 8 |
| Hansen et al., 200844 | Multiple | 56.2 (both) | 6928 (all-cause: 850; CVD: 325) | 9.6 | Palpation | 5 |
| Kizilbash et al., 200845 | US | 38.4 (men) | Men: 3918 (CVD: 496) | 32 | ECG | 8 |
| 36.3 (women) | Women: 8664 (CVD: 527) | |||||
| Tverdal et al., 200813 | Norway | 41.4 (men) | Men: 180 353 (all-cause: 5056; CVD: 1283) | 12 | A device while measuring BP | 8 |
| 41.4 (women) | Women: 199 490 (all-cause: 3895; CVD: 460) | |||||
| Mai et al., 200946 | China | 47 (both) | 9856 (all-cause: 1523) | 16.2 | ECG | 7 |
| Batty et al., 201047 | UK | 40–69 (men) | 1183 (all-cause: 940) | 40 | Unclear | 5 |
| Cooney et al., 201012 | Finland | 43.3 (men) | Men: 10 519 (CVD: 266; all-cause: 806) | 12 | Palpation | 8 |
| 43.0 (women) | Women: 11 334 (CVD: 96; all-cause: 408) | |||||
| Nauman et al., 201048 | Norway | 46 (men) | Men: 24 999 (CVD: 2566) | 18.2 | Palpation | 7 |
| 46 (women) | Women: 25 089 (CVD: 1814) | |||||
| Jensen et al., 201149 | Denmark | 49.8 (both) | 16 516 (all-cause: 8709; CVD: 3821) | 21.2 | ECG | 8 |
| Jouven et al., 201150 | France | 48.0 (men) | 6101 (all-cause: 1635; CVD: 435) | 25 | Palpation | 6 |
| Legeai et al., 201151 | France | 73.9 (both) | 7147 (all-cause: 615; CVD: 110) | 6 | A device while measuring BP | 5 |
| Nabi et al., 201152 | UK | 61 (both) | 5936 (all-cause: 170) | 5.6 | ECG | 5 |
| Nauman et al., 201153 | Norway | 51.9 (both) | 29 325 (all-cause: 3038) | 12 | Palpation | 9 |
| Inoue et al., 201254 | Japan | 59 (both) | 2583 (all-cause: 454; CVD: 153) | 12.0 | A device while measuring BP | 7 |
| Leistner et al., 201210 | Germany | 55.9 (both) | 5320 (all-cause: 137; CVD: 22) | 5 | A device while measuring BP | 6 |
| Woodward et al., 201255 | Asia-Pacific region | 51 (both) | 112 680 (all-cause: 6086; CVD: 2055) | 7.4 | Unclear | 6 |
| Jensen et al., 201356 | Denmark | 62.6 (men) | 2798 (all-cause: 1082) | 16 | ECG | 7 |
| Johansen et al., 201357 | Denmark | 64.4 (both) | 653 (all-cause: 80) | 6.3 | ECG | 7 |
| Pittaras et al., 201358 | US | 58 (men) | 18 642 (all-cause: 5100) | 10 | ECG | 7 |
| Plichart et al., 201359 | France | 44.6 (men) | Men: 141 533 (all-cause: not reported) | 5 | ECG | 6 |
| 44.9 (women) | Women: 84 755 (all-cause: not reported) | |||||
| Saxena et al., 201360 | US | 44.0 (both) | 53 322 (all-cause: 3125; CVD: 1081) | 15.0 | ECG | 8 |
| Aladin et al., 201461 | US | 53.0 (both) | 56 634 (all-cause: 6255) | 11.1 | Unclear | 7 |
| Floyd et al., 201462 | US | 76 (both) | 1991 (all-cause: 1326) | 12 | ECG | 7 |
| Hisamatsu et al., 201463 | Japan | 48.7 (both) | 8807 (CVD: 617) | 24 | ECG | 7 |
| Ho et al., 201464 | US | 55 (both) | 4058 (all-cause: 1186; CVD: 252) | 19 | ECG | 7 |
| Ó Hartaigh et al., 201465 | US | 43 (both) | 2865 (all-cause: 246) | 23 | Palpation | 6 |
| Ryu et al., 201466 | Korea | 66.2 (men) | 2600 (all-cause: 1990; CVD: 337) | 20.8 | Palpation | 7 |
| Wang et al., 201467 | China | 51.1 (both) | 92 562 (all-cause: 1589) | 4 | ECG | 7 |
Note: BP = blood pressure, CVD = cardiovascular disease, ECG = electrocardiogram.
↵* Study quality was judged based on the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (range 1–9 stars).