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(Hypertension. 1999;33:622-625.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.

Commentary

Need for a Revision of the Normal Limits of Resting Heart Rate

Paolo Palatini, MD

From the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.

Correspondence to Professor Paolo Palatini, MD, Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica E Sperimentale, University of Padova, via Giustiniani, 2, 35128 Padova, Italy. E-mail palatini@ux1.unipd.it

Key Words: heart rate, resting • commentary • risk factors

	Introduction

 
The current definition of sinus tachycardia is a heart rate >100 beats per minute (bpm).¹ This limit was set arbitrarily when heart rate was not yet regarded as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, probably with the main purpose of distinguishing between a disease state (fever, thyrotoxicosis, anemia, congestive heart failure, etc) and a normal condition.

	Tachycardia as a Cardiovascular Risk Factor

 
In recent years, interest has been aroused by the awareness that fast heart rate is a potent precursor of hypertension, atherosclerosis, and their sequelae.^{2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10} In addition, many leading epidemiological studies have shown that tachycardia is associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular and noncardiovascular causes. This relationship has been found in general populations,^{3 4 5 6 7} in elderly individuals,⁹ and in hypertensive cohorts.¹⁰ In all of these studies, the heart rate value above that in which a significant increase in risk was observed was below the 100 bpm threshold (Table 1). Only in the study by Levy et al³ was tachycardia defined as a heart rate >99 bpm, but in that study the cutoff between normal and high heart rate was chosen arbitrarily, and the highest heart rate value measured during the examination was taken to define the subject's heart rate. In all the other studies, the threshold level between normal and fast heart rate was between 79 and 90 bpm.

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window]   Table 1. Heart Rate Values Above Which a Significant Increase in Risk Was Found: Data From 9 Epidemiological Studies

The normalcy limits of a clinical variable can be established according to different criteria. . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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