Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of patients included in echocardiographic analysis stratified into groups above and below the mean baseline heart rate of 82 beats/min
| Variable | High BHR (n=123) | Low BHR (n=134) | p Value |
| Age (years) | 56 (1) | 58 (1) | 0.18 |
| Sex (male:female) (%) | 83:17 | 88:12 | 0.22 |
| Diagnosis: IHD/CM/other (%) | 29/67/4 | 31/62/7 | 0.63 |
| Duration of heart failure (months) | 43 (4) | 47 (4) | 0.45 |
| Atrial fibrillation (%) | 13 | 23 | 0.17 |
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 93 (1) | 72 (1) | <0.0001 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 113 (3) | 114 (2) | 0.78 |
| Serum sodium (mmol/l) | 138 (1) | 138 (1) | 0.56 |
| Serum creatinine (mmol/l) | 0.125 (0.010) | 0.114 (0.003) | 0.29 |
| 6 min walk distance (m) | 433 (12) | 460 (11) | 0.11 |
| NYHA class: I/II/III/IV (%) | 7/23/46/24 | 4/29/51/16 | 0.23 |
| Drug treatment (%) | |||
| ACE inhibitors | 96 | 98 | 0.41 |
| Diuretics | 89 | 90 | 0.86 |
| Digoxin | 72 | 79 | 0.19 |
| Amiodarone | 26 | 37 | 0.07 |
| Echocardiographic variables | |||
| LVEDD (mm) | 73 (1) | 74 (1) | 0.56 |
| LVESD (mm) | 63 (1) | 63 (1) | 0.94 |
| LVFS (%) | 14 (1) | 15 (1) | 0.10 |
Values are % or mean (SEM).
ACE, angiotensin converting enzyme; BHR, baseline heart rate; CM, cardiomyopathy; IHD, ischaemic heart disease; LVEDD, left ventricular end diastolic dimension; LVESD, left ventricular end systolic dimension; LVFS, left ventricular fractional shortening; NYHA, New York Heart Association.