Hip replacement, greater risk for heart attack

After surgical procedure, risk and complications for patients and even increases risk of heart attack, study shows.

A new study shows hip replacement increases the risk of heart attack to patients after surgery. Patients who had hip replacement sometimes suffer chronic pain. Aside from risk of heart attack, they may also experience complications similar to those associated with all joint replacements including dislocation, loosening, impingement, infection, metal sensitivity, nerve palsy, pain and even death.

It was found out that people who have hip or even knee replacement surgery, face greater risk for a heart attack during the first month after the procedure. Four times greater of risk of a heart attack, commonly known myocardial infarction among the arthroplasty patients. The surgical procedure where hip-joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant is very useful yet very risky to some patients.

Researchers said, “Overall, neither knee nor hip replacement increases the risk of heart attack over the entire follow-up period in our study, even though the risk was substantially increased shortly after surgery. This risk should not keep a patient from having either surgery.”

Senior author Yuqing Zhang of Boston University School of Medicine stated, findings suggest that the risk of a heart attack in the weeks after total joint replacement surgery “may have been previously underappreciated,” and ways to prevent this serious complication may need to be considered. “Our findings provide the first general population-based evidence that osteoarthritis patients who have total knee or total hip replacement surgery are at increased risk of heart attack in the immediate postoperative period.”

In statement of Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, “It is well documented that during and early after a variety of surgical procedures that the risk of a heart attack is elevated.”

Hip replacement, generally conducted to relieve arthritis pain or in some hip fractures that consist of replacing both the acetabulum and the femoral head while hemiarthroplasty. It aims to relief the pain as well as to improve the hip function. This is the most common orthopaedic operation, though patient satisfaction short and long-term varies widely. IMAGE/iStock

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