Osteoporosis drug alendronate may be good for the heart

An osteoporosis drug called alendronate has been linked with a reduced risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke in research published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Data from nearly 35,000 people newly diagnosed with hip fracture was assessed. A total of 4,602 of the volunteers received osteoporosis treatment during follow-up.

The bisphosphonate drug alendronate lowered the risk of:

• cardiovascular death by 67% after one year;
• heart attack by 45% after one year;
• stroke by 18% within five years;
• stroke by 17% within 10 years.

Protective effects were not evident for other classes of osteoporosis treatments.

“It is well established that there is a world-wide crisis in the treatment of osteoporosis, due to patients’ awareness of the extremely rare side effects,” says senior author Dr Ching-Lung Cheung. “Our findings show that alendronate is potentially cardioprotective in hip fracture patients.

“Therefore, physicians should consider prescribing alendronate or other nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates to hip fracture patients soon after their fracture, and patients should also have good compliance with alendronate treatment, as this is not only good for your bones, but also your heart.”

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