Racial Difference in Mean Pulse Rate of Children Aged 6 to 11 Years
Schachter and colleagues observed that black newborns have a higher mean heart rate than white newborns during non-rapid eye movement sleep, and this observation reportedly has been repeated at other laboratories.1,2 In Schachter's experience, the racial difference has persisted through the sixth month of life.3 Since heart rate is correlated cross-sectionally with level of blood pressure in adults4 and adolescents,5 and since increased heart rate in young adults is associated prospectively with risk of hypertensive disease,6-8 a racial difference in heart rate of newborns might be related to the racial difference in risk of hypertension. For these reasons, we investigated differences in mean pulse rate between black and white children, using data collected by the National Health Examination Survey (NHES).