Heart rate-corrected QT interval duration is significantly associated with blood pressure in Chinese hypertensives

Introduction: Many studies demonstrated that a prolonged heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc) increases the risk of malignant ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death. Methods: We measured the electrocardiogram and blood pressure of 1480 hypertensive patients and assessed the relationship between the length of QTc and blood pressure. Results: The mean QTc is longer in female than in male participants. There was a positive association between QTc and blood pressure in both men and women. The estimated increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure for each 100-millisecond increase in QTc was 6.4 and 5.0 mm Hg in men and 3.7 and 2.5 mm Hg in women, respectively. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated a significant positive relationship between the QTc interval and baseline blood pressure in a Chinese hypertensive population.