Heart rate reduction as a therapeutic goal: focus on primary prevention

Abstract

Recently published studies have demonstrated a direct link between heart rate (HR) and prognosis across various populations and clinical groups, including elderly people, patients with arterial hypertension, myocardial infarction, and coronary artery stenting, overweight patients, or even young people with relatively low cardiovascular risk levels. HR is considered as an additional independent risk factor (RF) of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, thus far, pharmaceutical HR reduction has been demonstrated to improve prognosis only in patients with coronary heart disease or chronic heart failure. The results in CVD-free patients have been contradictory. The review discusses the potential of different HR-reducing therapeutic regimens, as a part of primary CVD prevention.