MI risk increases after total joints

Editor's Note

Total knee and total hip arthroplasties are associated with a substantially increased risk of myocardial infarction during the first postoperative month, finds this study.

The MI risk gradually declined overtime, but the risk for venous thromboembolism remained years after the procedure.

The study included 40,000 patients, half of whom had joint replacement.

Methods: We conducted a time-stratified propensity score-matched cohort study for the outcome of myocardial infarction (MI). The study population included individuals aged ≥50 years who had a Readcode diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis (to evaluate TKA) or hip osteoarthritis (to evaluate THA) between January 2000 and December 2012.