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Is Heart Rate a Treatment Target in Heart Failure?

  • Congestive Heart Failure (J Lindenfeld, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Clinical and experimental studies confirmed an association between elevated resting heart rate and the risk of mortality in heart failure patients. Importantly, elevated heart rate at rest has been identified as a key finding in heart failure addressing a major treatment target. This review shows that heart rate level at rest and its extent of reduction is a sensitive indicator for successful therapy in heart failure patients demonstrating the specific influence of heart rate reduction on clinical outcome in the analyzed patients. Currently, experimental data provide convincing evidence of a pathophysiological concept of heart rate reduction; nevertheless, transition from experimental results to clinical evidence needs further clarification, especially in patients with diastolic heart failure. Since heart rate can be easily determined during physical examination, decrease in heart rate of patients allows a simple hint on prognosis and efficiency of heart failure therapy.

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Abbreviations

BEAUTIFUL:

Morbidity-Mortality Evaluation of the If Inhibitor Ivabradine in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease and Left Ventricular Dysfunction

CIBIS-II:

Cardiac Insufficiency Bisoprolol Study II

COMET:

Carvedilol or Metoprolol European Trial

GISSI:

Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Streptochianasi nell’Infarto Miocardico

MERIT-HF:

Metoprolol CR/XL Randomized Intervention Trial in Congestive Heart Failure

SHIFT:

Systolic Heart Failure Treatment with the If-Inhibitor Ivabradine Trial

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Disclosure

Conflicts of interest: J.-C. Reil: none; M. Böhm: has been a consultant for and has received honoraria from Servier, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Bayer, and Medtronic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Klinik für Innere Medizin III (Kardiologie, Angiologie, Internistische Intensivmedizin), Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes, Kirrberger Straße, 66421, Homburg/Saar, Germany

    Jan-Christian Reil & Michael Böhm

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  1. Jan-Christian Reil
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  2. Michael Böhm
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Correspondence to Jan-Christian Reil.

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Reil, JC., Böhm, M. Is Heart Rate a Treatment Target in Heart Failure?. Curr Cardiol Rep 14, 308–313 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-012-0260-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-012-0260-3

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