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

Jose and Collison published a study on the normal range and the determinants of intrinsic heart rate in man in Cardiovascular Research in 1970 [Jose AD, Collison D. The normal range and determinants of the intrinsic heart rate in man. Cardiovasc Res 1970; 4: 160-167)]. The intrinsic heart rate is the heart rate under complete pharmacological blockade. They showed that (i) the resting heart rate is lower than the intrinsic heart rate and that (ii) the intrinsic heart rate declines with age. They also established that the variability in intrinsic heart rate between individuals of the same age is of the same order as the effect of ageing at the population level. This update discusses the relevance of these data with emphasis on sinus node function and autonomic balance. The paper of Jose and Collison was cited more than 200 times. The frequency of citation started to increase more than 10 years after publication.