Cardiovascular Risk Factor Analysis in Patients with a Recent Clinical Fracture at the Fracture Liaison Service

Patients with a low bone mineral density have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and venous thromboembolic events (VTE). The aim of our retrospective chart review was to investigate the prevalence of CVD, VTE, hypertension (HT), and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) in patients with a recent clinical fracture visiting the Fracture Liaison Service (FLS). Out of 3057 patients aged 50–90 years, 1359 consecutive patients, who agreed and were able to visit the FLS for fracture risk evaluation, were included (71.7% women; mean age 65.2 yrs). Based on medical history, 29.9% had a history of CVD (13.7%), VTE (1.7%), HT (14.9%), and DM2 (7.1%) or a combination. Their prevalence increased with age (21% in patients aged 50–59 years to 48% in patients aged >80 years) and was higher in men than in women (36% versus 27%), but independent of bone mineral density and fracture type. Careful evaluation of medical history with respect to these risk factors should be performed in patients with a recent clinical fracture before starting treatment with medications that increase the risk of VTE or cardiovascular events, such as raloxifene, strontium ranelate, or NSAIDs.