%0 Journal Article %J Cardiology %D 2012 %T Heart rate response to a timed walk and cardiovascular outcomes in older adults: the cardiovascular health study. %A Girotra, Saket %A Kitzman, Dalane W %A Kop, Willem J %A Stein, Phyllis K %A Gottdiener, John S %A Mukamal, Kenneth J %K Aged %K Cause of Death %K Coronary Disease %K Exercise Test %K Female %K Heart Rate %K Humans %K Male %K Physical Exertion %K Prognosis %K Prospective Studies %K Risk Factors %K Time Factors %K Walking %X

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between heart rate response during low-grade physical exertion (6-min walk) with mortality and adverse cardiovascular outcomes in the elderly.

METHODS: Participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study who completed a 6-min walk test were included. We used delta heart rate (difference between postwalk heart rate and resting heart rate) as a measure of chronotropic response and examined its association with (1) all-cause mortality and (2) incident coronary heart disease event, using multivariable Cox regression models.

RESULTS: We included 2,224 participants (mean age 77 ± 4 years; 60% women; 85% white). The average delta heart rate was 26 beats/min. Participants in the lowest tertile of delta heart rate (<20 beats/min) had higher risk-adjusted mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.40] and incident coronary heart disease (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.05-1.78) compared to subjects in the highest tertile (≥30 beats/min), with a significant linear trend across tertiles (p for trend <0.05 for both outcomes). This relationship was not significant after adjustment for distance walked.

CONCLUSION: Impaired chronotropic response during a 6-min walk test was associated with an increased risk of mortality and incident coronary heart disease among the elderly. This association was attenuated after adjusting for distance walked.

%B Cardiology %V 122 %P 69-75 %8 2012 %G eng %N 2 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22722364?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1159/000338736