Side-effects of Treatment of Osteoporosis on the Heart

Osteoporosis is a disease of bone in which there is decrease density of bone mineral that makes bone fragile. Because of fragility bones are at risk of fracture. Osteoporosis is most commonly seen in postmenopausal women. However, it may occurs in males also especially because of medication like glucocorticosteroid. Any bone can be affected but fracture of spine and pelvis as they may serious complications like deformity, pain and disability in walking.
Osteoporosis or fractures due to osteoporosis can be prevented by change in life style like taking care on movements and preventing stressful exercise and falls. However, life style change is an addition for treatment, medications are required that are calcium, phosphate, vitamin D, etc. Stressful exercise is not advised but exercise for muscles is required or there can be atrophic changes in muscles of affected bone.
Medications used for osteoporosis may have side effects like heart burn, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea. Some serious and rare side effects include atrial fibrillation (irregular heart beating), unusual bone fracture incapacitating the bone and pain in joints and muscles. For those who already have heart problem, they are at high risk of arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is completely irregularly beating of heart and patient may feel uncomfortable awareness of heart beat (palpitation) and some may have episode of syncope that is brief loss of consciousness. Because of irregularity in heart beating, heart is unable to pump the blood out as much as drains into heart and hence, blood accumulates in heart chambers and make clot. This clot if leaves the heart and reaches to brain arteries that blocks the blood supply to brain, results in stroke.
That’s why, it is necessary to be more cautious while giving medication for osteoporosis to those who are at risk of atrial fibrillation or who already have heart diseases. It is always necessary to check blood levels of calcium, phosphate and also it is necessary to check the activity of heart by electrocardiography or echocardiography.


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