Heart attack risk increases for post-surgery patients

  

July 25, 2012 (WLS) -- Older patients who have a hip or knee replaced face an increased risk of heart attack in the two weeks after the procedure, according to an international study.

The report in the Archives of Internal Medicine says people 60 years of age, and older, who underwent hip replacement were 25 times more likely to have a heart attack shortly afterward.

The risk of having a heart attack was 31 times more likely for those who received a new knee.

Although it's not clear that the hip and knee procedures themselves triggered the heart attacks, researchers say it's reasonable to think they would have some role.

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