Association of resting heart rate with pulse wave velocity and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in hypertensive patients

AIM:To study the relationship between resting heart rate (RHR) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in hypertensive patients. METHODS: Two hundred and seventy-eight hypertensive patients were enrolled in the study and, according to the RHR, were divided into three groups: group RHR 1 (<70/min, n=81), group RHR 2 (70-80/min, n=113) and group RHR 3 (>80/min, n=84). RHR, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and PWV and hs-CRP were determined, and the correlation between RHR and the other parameters was analyzed. RESULTS: Both SBP and DBP in Group RHR3 are higher than in RHR1 or RHR2. SBP in Group RHR2 is higher than in Group RHR1. From Groups RHR1 and RHR2 to Group RHR3, RHP, FBG, TC, TG, LDL-C, PWV, and hs-CRP are prone to increase (P<0.05 or P<0.01), whereas HDL-C is prone to decrease (P<0.05). RHP is positively related to FBG, TC, TG, LDL-C, PWV, and hs-CRP (P<0.05 or P<0.01) and negatively related to HDL-C (P<0.05) PWV and hs-CRP in group RHR2 or group RHR3 were higher than those in RHR1. CONCLUSION: RHR is associated with PWV and hs-CRP in hypertensive patients.