The Continuous Heart Rate in Men Exhibiting an Overt Behavior Pattern Associated with Increased Incidence of Clinical Coronary Artery Disease

The continuous heart rates of a group of subjects exhibiting behavior pattern A (associated with a high incidence of clinical coronary heart disease) were obtained by means of a specially designed instrument at various times of the total day and compared with that obtained from subjects exhibiting a converse pattern (behavior pattern B). In addition, the heart rates of patients suffering from functional cardiovascular disease and from clinical coronary heart disease were measured throughout the day.The average daily heart rates appeared to be about the same in subjects with pattern A and in subjects with pattern B. Moreover, their average heart rates were approximately the same as those in patients with functional cardiovascular disease.Patients suffering from coronary heart disease with or without a previous infarction, if essentially asymptomatic, showed about the same average daily heart rate as did the subjects of the other groups. However, the patients who had suffered from a previous infarction and who were experiencing symptoms exhibited a faster heart rate.