Age related reference ranges of heart rate for Saudi children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the resting heart rate to define reference values for healthy Saudi children and adolescents. METHODS To establish representative heart rate (HR) reference values for Saudi Arabian children and adolescents, a sample of children, and adolescents was selected by multi-stage probability sampling of the Saudi population from birth to 20 years of age. The selected sample represents Saudi children from the whole country. Data were collected by a house-to-house survey of all selected households in all the 13 regions in the country. A total of 10,458 Saudi children were included in the study. The HR was measured by oscillometric-automated devices. Upper and lower reference values of the HR in boys and girls were calculated as mean +/= 2 SD. The study is cross-sectional, community based, and conducted over 2 years (2004-2005). Data management and analysis were performed in the College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. RESULTS Determination of the HR values in a sample representing healthy Saudi children and adolescents from birth to 20 years of age. CONCLUSION The present study provides age-specific reference values for heart rate (HR) of Saudi children and adolescents based on a large study sample. The use of these standards should aid the identification of children with abnormal HR.