Association between resting heart rate just before starting the first dialysis session and mortality: A multicentre prospective cohort study

Aim: Some observational studies of the general population showed that resting heart rate was associated with mortality. However, the relationship was unclear in dialysis patients. Methods: The study was a multicentre prospective cohort analysis including 1102 patients. Patients were classified into four groups based on resting heart rate just before starting the first dialysis session: <60/min; 60–79/min; 80–100/min; and ≥101/min. All-cause mortality, cardiovascular (CV) related mortality, and incidences of CV events after dialysis initiation were compared using the log-rank test. All-cause mortality rates for patients with heart rates <60, 60–79, and ≥101/min were compared to those for patients with heart rates 80–100/min, using multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. Moreover, we compared the outcomes among patients without use of β-blocker or heart failure symptom at the first dialysis session. Results: Significant differences were observed in the all-cause mortality rates among the four groups (P = 0.007). Multivariate analysis revealed that all-cause mortality was significantly higher in patients with heart rate ≥ 101/min than in patients with heart rate 80–100/min (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.25–4.23). Subgroup analysis showed that among patients without use of b-blocker or heart failure symptom, all-cause mortality rates for those with heart rates ≥101/min were significantly higher than in patients with heart rate 80–100/min (HR = 2.98, 95% CI: 1.51–5.88, HR = 3.65, 95% CI: 1.59–8.36, respectively). Conclusion: The resting heart rate just before starting the first dialysis session was associated with all-cause mortality after dialysis initiation.