Heart failure patients at high risk of fractures
15 years, 6 months ago
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Posted on Oct 21, 2008, 10 a.m.
By Rich Hurd
New research has revealed that people with heart failure are at higher risk of fractures than people with other heart conditions.
New research has revealed that people with heart failure are at higher risk of fractures than people with other heart conditions.
Justin A Ezekowitz and colleagues studied 16,294 people with heart disease who had been treated at emergency rooms between 1998 and 2001. Results showed that 4.6% of heart failure patients sustained a fracture that was not due to trauma within the 12-months following their visit to hospital, compared with just 1% of other heart patients. Furthermore, the one-year rate for hip fractures was 1.3% for heart failure patients compared with just 0.1 % for other heart patients.
After adjusting for other risk factors, heart failure patients were found to be four times more likely to sustain a fracture and 6.3 times more likely to fracture their hip than patients with other heart conditions.
Why people with heart failure should be at increased risk of fracture remains unclear, however the researchers suggest that an inability to exercise may be a factor.
The authors concluded: “Hear failure is associated with an increased risk of subsequent orthopedic fracture, particularly hip fracture. This suggests that screening for and treatment of osteoporosis to reduce fracture risk need to be considered in those with heart failure.”
Diepen SV, Majumdar SR, Bakal JA, McAlister FA, Ezekowitz JA. Heart Failure Is a Risk Factor for Orthopedic Fracture. A Population-Based Analysis of 16 294 Patients. Circulation 2008. Published online before print October 20, 2008, doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.784009
