Key result
Resting heart rate linked to J-shaped AF risk increasing above and below 70 bpm.
Why the study?
Previous meta-analytic results on resting heart rate as a risk factor for AF were conflicting, leaving the relationship not well established.
Does resting heart rate affect the risk of incident atrial fibrillation in the general population?
Meta-Analysis (n=431,432)
Does resting heart rate affect the risk of incident atrial fibrillation in the general population?
This dose-response meta-analysis demonstrates a J-shaped association between resting heart rate and incident atrial fibrillation, indicating that both low (<70 bpm) and high (>70 bpm) resting heart rates are associated with an increased risk of AF compared to a modest rate of 68-80 bpm.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Extreme RHR values may elevate AF risk; extends observational data but leaves causality and targets open for RCTs.
In a previous meta-analysis, it was demonstrated that the resting heart rate (RHR) is a potential risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the results of that meta-analysis were conflicting, and the relationship between the RHR and AF is still not well established. In the current meta-analysis, our aim is to update evidence with a better statistical model. We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase databases for relevant studies and used a "one-stage approach" with a restricted cubic spline model to summarize the dose-specific relationships between the RHR and AF. Relative risk (RR) was used to measure the effects. In total, 10 studies were included, with a total of 18,630 cases of AF among 431,432 participants. In the dose-response analysis, there was evidence of a nonlinear association between the RHR and the risk of AF (nonlinearity, P < 0.0001), which exhibited a significant J-shaped association between the two factors. An RHR between 68 and 80 bpm had the lowest risk of AF. Among people who had RHR < 70 bpm, the summary RR was 1.09 per 10-RHR decrease (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06-1.12; P < 0.001). The results were similar for participants with RHR > 70 bpm (per 10 bpm increase) (RR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.03-1.08; P < 0.001). Our dose-response meta-analysis revealed a significant J-shaped association between the RHR and AF. Both low RHR and high RHR were associated with an increased risk of AF compared with a modest RHR of 68-80 bpm.
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Liu et al. (2019) conducted a meta-analysis in Atrial fibrillation (n=431,432). Resting heart rate vs. Resting heart rate of 68-80 bpm was evaluated on Atrial fibrillation (RR 1.09, 95% CI 1.06-1.12, p=<0.001). Resting heart rate showed a J-shaped association with atrial fibrillation risk, where rates <70 bpm (RR 1.09, 1.06-1.12) and >70 bpm (RR 1.06, 1.03-1.08) both increased risk.
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