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Total hip and knee replacements cut risk of serious CV events

Total hip and knee replacements reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular events, shows recent research.

Canadian researchers recruited 2200 adults with hip or knee osteoarthritis, aged 55 or more and followed prospectively for 15-17 years, or until death. The main outcome measures were rates of serious cardiovascular events for those who received a primary total joint arthroplasty compared with those who did not, within three years of exposure at the baseline assessment.

The matched cohort consisted of 153  pairs of participants with moderate-severe arthritis. Participants who underwent a total joint arthroplasty were 44% less likely to experience a cardiovascular event, compared to those who did not over the follow-up period.

The researchers noted that the study found a ‘cardioprotective benefit of primary elective joint arthroplasty’. While the resultsrequire further confirmation in larger studies, the researchers conclude that they ‘provide further justification for increased attention to the impact of treatments directed towards osteoarthritis related disability in the prevention and management of other common chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease’. 

BMJ, available online 30 October


          

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