FILE: RHR · OPENED JUL 9 2026 · REV 1 LIVE FILE

RHR Research Desk

The working file on RHR. Each claim below is rated on its own evidence.

Does elevated resting heart rate predict increased mortality and cardiovascular risk?

KnowYourPrime evidence rating Established Strong, consistent evidence supports the claim.

Higher resting heart rate reflects worse cardiovascular health and higher mortality risk.

Systematic-review or meta-analytic evidence affirms the core relationship.
Multiple supporting studies are consistent with the core relationship.

What would change this rating

A new core-hitting conflicting study, a retraction of an anchor, or a failed replication would lower this rating.

30 studies scored · 7 anchor · 22 supporting · 1 null-result · Last reviewed Jul 9, 2026

Do consumer wearables measure resting heart rate accurately against a clinical reference?

KnowYourPrime evidence rating Emerging Evidence currently favors the claim, but more confirmation is needed.

Consumer wearables measure resting heart rate accurately enough to be meaningful.

Anchor-grade evidence affirms the core relationship.
Multiple supporting studies are consistent with the core relationship.
The claim rests on a single anchor whose finding affirms it; a second independent affirming anchor is needed to reach Established.

7 studies scored · 1 anchor · 6 supporting · Last reviewed Jul 9, 2026

Studies in Pool37

Claims Rated2

Last PubMed Sync[ pending ]

Next Scheduled Review[ not yet scheduled ]

3 systematic reviews 1 RCTs 22 observational 1 validity study 10 other

MAINTAINED BY The KnowYourPrime Research Desk · reviewed against new evidence on a rolling basis

Evidence for: Higher resting heart rate reflects worse cardiovascular health and higher mortality risk.

30 scored

Anchor Studies7

Resting heart rate and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the general population: a meta-analysis.

Journal

CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2016

PMID

26598376

RCR

10.7

Citations

228

Study type

Meta-analysis

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

cardiovascular diseasescause of death

Resting heart rate and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer, and all-cause mortality - A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies.

Journal

Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD · 2017

PMID

28552551

RCR

9.8

Citations

205

Study type

Meta-analysis

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

cardiovascular diseasescause of death

Resting heart rate - The forgotten risk factor? Comparison of resting heart rate and hypertension as predictors of all-cause mortality in 692,217 adults in Asia and Europe.

Journal

Progress in cardiovascular diseases · 2025

PMID

39894380

Citations

Study type

Comparative study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humanshypertension

Age, sex and disease-specific associations between resting heart rate and cardiovascular mortality in the UK BIOBANK.

Journal

PloS one · 2020

PMID

32470091

RCR

1.5

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

age factorsaged

Impact of resting heart rate and predicted cardiovascular risk on mortality in nearly 110,000 Chinese adults.

Journal

Heart rhythm · 2026

PMID

40174737

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansheart rate

Prognostic Value of Resting Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability in the 12-lead Electrocardiogram: Mortality Data from the CODE Database.

Journal

The American journal of cardiology · 2025

PMID

40180141

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansheart rate

Sex-specific and polygenic effects underlying resting heart rate and associated risk of cardiovascular disease.

Journal

European journal of preventive cardiology · 2024

PMID

38437179

RCR

1.0

Citations

Study type

Meta-analysis

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

adultaged

Supporting Studies22

Resting heart rate in cardiovascular disease.

Journal

Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2007

PMID

17719466

RCR

22.4

Citations

791

Study type

Review

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

adrenergic beta-antagonistsanimals

Resting heart rate: risk indicator and emerging risk factor in cardiovascular disease.

Journal

The American journal of medicine · 2015

PMID

25447617

RCR

6.6

Citations

168

Study type

Review

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

benzazepinescardiovascular agents

Heart rate as a predictor of cardiovascular risk.

Journal

European journal of clinical investigation · 2018

PMID

29355923

RCR

4.0

Citations

Study type

Review

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

adolescentadult

Importance of resting heart rate.

Journal

Trends in cardiovascular medicine · 2023

PMID

35623552

RCR

9.4

Citations

Study type

Review

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansheart

Heart rate and cardiovascular protection.

Journal

European journal of internal medicine · 2016

PMID

25704330

RCR

2.7

Citations

Study type

Review

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

adrenergic beta-antagonistsarrhythmias, cardiac

Resting heart rate and relation to disease and longevity: past, present and future.

Journal

Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation · 2019

PMID

30761923

RCR

2.5

Citations

Study type

Review

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

adrenergic beta-antagonistsanimals

Heart rate as cardiovascular risk factor.

Journal

Postgraduate medicine · 2020

PMID

32164466

RCR

1.2

Citations

Study type

Review

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

age factorsblood pressure

[Resting pulse rate as an indicator of health and disease].

Journal

Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke · 2012

PMID

22717860

RCR

0.3

Citations

Study type

Review

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

animalscardiovascular diseases

Prognostic value of home heart rate for cardiovascular mortality in the general population: the Ohasama study.

Journal

American journal of hypertension · 2005

PMID

15533725

RCR

3.2

Citations

125

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

adultblood pressure determination

Resting, night-time, and 24 h heart rate as markers of cardiovascular risk in middle-aged and elderly men and women with no apparent heart disease.

Journal

European heart journal · 2014

PMID

23306958

RCR

4.6

Citations

120

Study type

Comparative study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

agedcardiovascular diseases

Resting heart rate, heart rate variability and functional decline in old age.

Journal

CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2016

PMID

26323697

RCR

3.0

Citations

Study type

Randomized controlled trial

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

activities of daily livingaged

Blunted heart rate dip during sleep and all-cause mortality.

Journal

Archives of internal medicine · 2007

PMID

17954807

RCR

3.6

Citations

121

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

blood pressure monitoring, ambulatorycardiovascular diseases

Heritability of resting heart rate and association with mortality in middle-aged and elderly twins.

Journal

Heart (British Cardiac Society) · 2017

PMID

28637897

RCR

1.2

Citations

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

adolescentadult

Cumulative Resting Heart Rate Exposure and Risk of All-Cause Mortality: Results from the Kailuan Cohort Study.

Journal

Scientific reports · 2018

PMID

28067310

RCR

0.6

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

adultcohort studies

Resting Heartbeat Complexity Predicts All-Cause and Cardiorespiratory Mortality in Middle- to Older-Aged Adults From the UK Biobank.

Journal

Journal of the American Heart Association · 2021

PMID

33461311

RCR

1.8

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

biological specimen bankscardiovascular diseases

Effect of Resting Heart Rate on All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Events According to Age.

Journal

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2017

PMID

28039873

RCR

0.7

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

age factorscardiovascular diseases

Association between Resting Heart Rate and Machine Learning-Based Brain Age in Middle- and Older-Age.

Journal

The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2024

PMID

39044526

RCR

0.9

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansmiddle aged

Resting Heart Rate and Risk of Incident Venous Thromboembolism: The Tromsø Study.

Journal

Thrombosis and haemostasis · 2026

PMID

40273921

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansvenous thromboembolism

The normal range and determinants of the intrinsic heart rate in man.

Journal

Cardiovascular research · 2000

PMID

10728332

RCR

0.5

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

bibliometricsdiagnostic techniques, cardiovascular

Heart and health behavior responses to GLP-1 receptor agonists: a 12-wk study using wearable technology and causal inference.

Journal

American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology · 2025

PMID

39705534

RCR

2.5

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansmale

Free-living associations between resting heart rate parameters and cardiometabolic health in adults.

Journal

Physiological reports · 2026

PMID

42405474

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansheart rate

Assessment of heart rate measurements by commercial wearable fitness trackers for early identification of metabolic syndrome risk.

Journal

Scientific reports · 2024

PMID

39394437

RCR

0.7

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansmetabolic syndrome

Null-Result Studies1

Resting heart rate and mortality in the very old.

Journal

Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation · 2020

PMID

31581851

RCR

0.3

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

Bears on

Secondary point

aged, 80 and overfemale

Evidence for: Consumer wearables measure resting heart rate accurately enough to be meaningful.

7 scored

Anchor Studies1

Validation of nocturnal resting heart rate and heart rate variability in consumer wearables.

Journal

Physiological reports · 2025

PMID

40834291

RCR

3.4

Citations

Study type

Validity study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansheart rate

Supporting Studies6

Using Free-Living Heart Rate Data as an Objective Method to Assess Physical Activity: A Scoping Review and Recommendations by the INTERLIVE-Network Targeting Consumer Wearables.

Journal

Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025

PMID

39893599

RCR

3.2

Citations

Study type

Review

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansheart rate

Resting Heart Rate Variability Measured by Consumer Wearables and Its Associations with Diverse Health Domains in Five Longitudinal Studies.

Journal

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025

PMID

41374522

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansheart rate

Inter- and intraindividual variability in daily resting heart rate and its associations with age, sex, sleep, BMI, and time of year: Retrospective, longitudinal cohort study of 92,457 adults.

Journal

PloS one · 2020

PMID

32023264

RCR

8.4

Citations

119

Study type

Observational study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

adolescentadult

The Impact of Alcohol on Sleep Physiology: A Prospective Observational Study on Nocturnal Resting Heart Rate Using Smartwatch Technology.

Journal

Nutrients · 2025

PMID

40362779

Citations

Study type

Observational study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansfemale

A longitudinal analysis of COVID-19 lockdown stringency on sleep and resting heart rate measures across 20 countries.

Journal

Scientific reports · 2021

PMID

34257380

RCR

1.9

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

covid-19communicable disease control

Effects of Heat Adaptation Behaviors on Resting Heart Rate Response to Summer Temperatures in Older Adults: Wearable Device Panel Study.

Journal

JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025

PMID

41237278

Citations

Study type

Primary study

Sample size

[ pending extraction ]

humansfemale

01On Our Desk

In Progress

What we're reading right now

A study only enters a claim's evidence once it's read in full and weighed against what's already in file.

Identified

Queued

Under Review

Extracted

Pending Consensus

Nothing on the desk this cycle.

02Research Log

JUL 9 2026

doi:10.1007/s40279-024-02159-1 entered as supporting on the measurement claim.

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-93924-z entered as supporting on the measurement claim.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0227709 entered as supporting on the measurement claim.

doi:10.14814/phy2.70527 entered as anchor on the measurement claim.

doi:10.2196/67721 entered as supporting on the measurement claim.

doi:10.3390/nu17091470 entered as supporting on the measurement claim.

doi:10.3390/s25237147 entered as supporting on the measurement claim.

doi:10.1001/archinte.167.19.2116 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2025.03.038 entered as anchor on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1016/j.amjhyper.2004.06.019 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.09.016 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1016/j.ejim.2015.02.009 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2025.03.1990 entered as anchor on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2007.04.079 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2017.04.004 entered as anchor on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2025.01.007 entered as anchor on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1016/j.tcm.2022.05.006 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-74619-7 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1038/srep40212 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1055/a-2593-1679 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1080/00325481.2020.1738142 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1080/00365513.2019.1566567 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1080/00365513.2019.1672085 entered as null_result on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehs449 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwae092 entered as anchor on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1111/eci.12892 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1111/jgs.14714 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2016-310986 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00809.2024 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1161/jaha.120.018483 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0233898 entered as anchor on the physiological claim.

doi:10.14283/jpad.2024.76 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.14814/phy2.71008 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1503/cmaj.150462 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

doi:10.1503/cmaj.150535 entered as anchor on the physiological claim.

doi:10.4045/tidsskr.11.0629 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

pmid:10728332 entered as supporting on the physiological claim.

JUL 9 2026

doi:10.1080/00365513.2019.1672085 entered as a null result study on the physiological claim, flagged as bearing on a secondary point, not the core direction.

Because it does not hit the core claim, it does not cap the rating and is tracked as an open question.

04Revision Log

JUL 9 2026

measurement: opened at Emerging

Opened at Emerging by rule from the current evidence for: Consumer wearable devices measure resting heart rate with close agreement to ECG reference..

JUL 9 2026

physiological: opened at Established

Opened at Established by rule from the current evidence for: Higher resting heart rate is associated with greater all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk..

This page interprets published research. It is not medical advice. The KnowYourPrime Research Desk rates the evidence supporting a claim, not the claim itself. It does not diagnose or treat. Talk to your own doctor about your health.