Heart rate in general population

BACKGROUND: Heart rate (HR), although often neglected, is identified as a potential independent cardiovascular risk factor. Some studies found differences in HR between hypertensives (HT), prehypertensives (PH) and normotensives(NT), while others observed opposite. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to analyze HR considering the blood pressure (BP) categories, in adults included in our epidemiologic survey. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Nine hundred and nineteen untreated subjects (407 men and 512 women) were enrolled on the door-to-door basis. BP and HR were measured according to the ESH/ESC guidelines. Subjects were classified into groups as follows: I 180/110 mmHg ; VII systolic BP>140 and diastolic BP