Abstract: Objective To analyze the association of resting heart rate (RHR) with the prognosis of patients with post-infarction ventricular aneurysms. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 227 patients with post-infarction ventricular aneurysms admitted to our hospital during 2017-2019. The endpoint event was the occurrence of any major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) during the follow-up for 24 months. According to RHR measurements, the patients were divided into 3 groups with baseline RHR <10%, 10%-90%, and >90%. The Cox proportional risk model and restricted cubic spline (RCS) model were used to analyze the effect of RHR on MACCEs. Results During the 24-month follow-up, 90 patients (39.6% ) experienced MACCEs. The fully adjusted RCS curves showed a nonlinear "U" shaped correlation between RHR and the occurrence of MACCEs. In the fully adjusted model, the risk of MACCEs increased by 3.01-fold (Hazard ratio [HR]=4.01, 95% CI: 2.07-7.76, P<0.001) in patients with RHR>90%, as compared with patients with RHR of 10%-90%. In patients with RHR in 1-9th percentile, 10th-90th percentile and 91st-100th percentile, the incidences of MACCEs were 39.1%, 36.6% and 66.7% (P=0.027), the incidences of ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) were 17.4%, 2.7% and 4.8% (P=0.005), and the incidences of readmission for heart failure were 8.7%, 26.8% and 42.9% (P=0.036), respectively. Conclusion Continuous monitoring and management of heart rate range may provide guidance for prognosis prediction in patients with post-infarction ventricular aneurysms.

Key words: post-myocardial infarction ventricular aneurysms; resting heart rate; major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events