Pooled results for risk of coronary artery disease, by resting heart rate (reference: < 60 beats/min)
| Variable | 60–70 beats/min | 70–80 beats/min | > 80 beats/min | 10 beats/min increment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | RR (95% CI) | n | RR (95% CI) | n | RR (95% CI) | n | RR (95% CI) | |
| Overall | 16 | 0.99 (0.93–1.04) | 23 | 1.08 (1.01–1.16) | 29 | 1.30 (1.19–1.43)‡ | 39 | 1.12 (1.09–1.14) |
| Mean age | ||||||||
| > 50 yr | 10 | 1.02 (0.95–1.09) | 13 | 1.09 (1.02–1.18) | 15 | 1.28 (1.14–1.43)‡ | 23 | 1.11 (1.08–1.14) |
| ≤ 50 yr | 6 | 0.93 (0.81–1.06) | 10 | 1.07 (0.92–1.23) | 14 | 1.37 (1.15–1.63)‡ | 16 | 1.13 (1.09–1.17) |
| Absence of CVD at baseline | ||||||||
| Yes | 13 | 0.99 (0.92–1.06) | 16 | 1.07 (0.97–1.17) | 22 | 1.28 (1.14–1.42)‡ | 26 | 1.12 (1.10–1.15) |
| No | 3 | 0.91 (0.73–1.15) | 7 | 1.15 (1.02–1.29) | 7 | 1.37 (1.18–1.60) | 13 | 1.10 (1.06–1.15) |
| Sex | ||||||||
| Men | 7 | 0.97 (0.88–1.08) | 10 | 1.09 (0.97–1.22) | 12 | 1.37 (1.15–1.63)‡ | 15 | 1.12 (1.08–1.16) |
| Women | 5 | 0.95 (0.80–1.13)‡ | 7 | 1.01 (0.91–1.11) | 10 | 1.28 (1.11–1.47) | 12 | 1.13 (1.09–1.16) |
| All | 4 | 1.03 (0.89–1.18) | 6 | 1.17 (1.03–1.33) | 7 | 1.28 (1.08–1.52) | 12 | 1.10 (1.06–1.15) |
| No. of covariables* adjusted for in meta-regression† | ||||||||
| ≥ 6 | 9 | 1.05 (0.97–1.14) | 10 | 1.21 (1.07–1.37) | 15 | 1.47 (1.27–1.69) | 22 | 1.13 (1.10–1.17) |
| < 6 | 7 | 0.93 (0.86–1.00) | 13 | 1.00 (0.93–1.07) | 14 | 1.19 (1.07–1.32)‡ | 17 | 1.10 (1.08–1.13) |
Note: CI = confidence interval, CVD = cardiovascular disease, n = number of studies with sex-specific results that were included in the analysis, RR = relative risk.
↵* Covariables were blood pressure, smoking, body mass index, physical activity, serum cholesterol or triglycerides, diabetes mellitus and blood glucose, alcohol use, and education or social class.
↵† All associations determined by “meta-regression were nonsignificant (p > 0.05), except for the subgroup analysis by number of covariates adjusted for in the categories of “70–80 beats/min” and “> 80 beats/min.”
↵‡ Heterogeneity was moderate (I2 value between 50% and 75%). For RR values without this symbol, heterogeneity was low (I2 < 50%).