Resting heart rate and incidence of venous thromboembolism.

Background/Objectives: Higher resting heart rate is a risk factor for arterial cardiovascular diseases. We assessed whether higher heart rate is a risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Methods: In a prospective epidemiologic cohort, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, we associated resting heart rate by electrocardiogram with physician-validated incident hospitalized VTE through 2015. We also examined whether lower heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of cardiac autonomic imbalance, might be a risk factor for VTE.

Results: Resting heart rate at Visit 1 (1987-1989), when participants were 45 to 64 years old (mean, 54 years), was not associated with incidence of VTE (n = 882 cases). However, heart rate at Visit 4 (1996-1998; mean age, 63 years) was associated positively with VTE (n = 557 cases). The adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of VTE across Visit 4 heart rate categories of

Conclusion: We found a significant positive and independent association of resting heart rate at ARIC Visit 4 with incidence of VTE. The reason why high heart rate is a risk marker for VTE warrants further exploration.