PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Al-Qurashi, Mansour M. AU - El-Mouzan, Mohammad I. AU - Al-Herbish, Abdullah S. AU - Al-Salloum, Abdullah A. AU - Al-Omar, Ahmad A. TI - Age related reference ranges of heart rate for Saudi children and adolescents DP - 2009 Jul 01 TA - Saudi Medical Journal PG - 926--931 VI - 30 IP - 7 4099 - http://smj.org.sa/content/30/7/926.short 4100 - http://smj.org.sa/content/30/7/926.full SO - Saudi Med J2009 Jul 01; 30 AB - 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.