Abstract
Evaluation of: Rhee CW, Lee J, Oh S, Choi NK, Park BJ. Use of bisphosphonate and risk of atrial fibrillation in elderly women with osteoporosis. Osteoporos. Int. DOI: 10.1007/s00198-011-1608-z (2011) (Epub ahead of print). Osteoporosis is a growing problem in the aging population. It affects postmenopausal women, as well as elderly subjects of both sexes, often with dysfunction of the cardiovascular system or with an increased risk of circulation disorders. It has been found that the mortality rate of subjects with osteoporosis is comparable with that in patients suffering from diseases such as obturative pulmonary disease and myocardial ischemia. Bisphosphonates are the first-line drugs used in the therapy of osteoporosis. However, their administration is associated with a risk of adverse symptoms, which are likely to occur as gastrointestinal tract disturbances, muscular-osseous pains, mandible necrosis and atypical fractures. Recently, an increased risk of atrial fibrillation during bisphosphonate treatment in females has been reported, but the results of some studies are rather controversial. The new paper by Rhee et al., published in Osteoporosis International, presents data from a large cohort study and shows opposite, protective effects of bisphosphonate against atrial fibrillation. It is important for both clinicians and their patients to know whether bisphosphonates increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmia.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.