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Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in the General Croatian Population – EH-UH Study

Introduction: The prognostic value of heart rate (HR) for the development of hypertension and as an important cardiovascular risk factor is still neglected. Until now, there is no data on HR and its correlation with blood pressure (BP) in the Croatian general population. Subjects and methods: Of 1, 447 subjects enrolled in a nationwide survey (EH-UH study), 672 participants were eligible (302 men and 370 women) for further analyses (treated hypertensives and those with incomplete data were excluded). HR and BP were measured following ESH guidelines. The aim of the study was to determine HR values and analyse if there is a correlation between HR and BP in the general Croatian population. Results of this study show that men with high normal BP have a significantly higher HR than the men with optimal BP values (74.5 ; 95% CI 67.3–79.8 vs.72.2 ; 95% CI 66.9–78.0 ; p = 0.032), but they do not differ from the hypertensives (74.5 ; 95% CI 67.0–79.7 ; p > 0.05). In women, there is a significant difference in HR values among all normal BP categories and the hypertensive group (p = 0.003). HR is higher in men than in women appertaining to categories of optimal BP (72.2 ; 95% CI 66.9–78.0 vs.70.1 ; 95% CI 66.5– 73.6 ; p = 0.067) and stage 1 hypertension (p = 0.016). Subjects in stage 3 hypertension group have the highest values of HR (p = 0.004). A significant correlation was observed between HR and systolic and diastolic BP in the whole group (r=0.19 ; r=0.21, respectively ; p < 0.001) and in both genders. Conclusion: HR was higher in subjects with high normal than optimal BP, with the difference being more significant in men. In both genders, a statistically significant correlation between HR and BP was found. Our results confirmed previous studies showing that HR should be seriously considered from the beginning of the cardiorenal continuum.

heart rate; blood pressure

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