Researchers found that patients with osteoarthritis who had total knee or hip joint arthroplasty were at increased risk of myocardial infarction in the early post-operative period, according to a study published online ahead of print August 31 in Arthritis & Rheumatology. However, findings indicate that long-term risk of heart attack did not persist, while the risk for venous thromboembolism remained years after the procedure was performed.
The cohort study included 13,849 patients who underwent total knee replacement surgery and 13,849 matched controls that did not have surgery. Patients were ages 50 or older and were diagnosed with knee or hip osteoarthritis between January 2000 and December 2012.
Yuqing Zhang, DSc
Findings indicate that 306 patients in the arthroplasty group and 286 in the non-surgical group developed myocardial infarction during the follow-up period.
Risk of heart attack was significantly higher during the first postoperative month in those who had knee replacement surgery compared with those in the non-surgical group (hazard ratio 8.75), and gradually declined over time. Venous thromboembolism was a significant risk during the first month and over time for those who had total knee or total hip arthroplasty.
“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,” said Yuqing Zhang, DSc, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Boston University School of Medicine. “The long-term risk of heart attack was insignificant, but risk of blood clots in the lung remained for years after surgery to replace a hip or knee damaged by osteoarthritis,” said Dr. Zhang.