Cerebrovascular accidents associated with hip fractures: morbidity and mortality—5-year survival

BACKGROUND: Hip fractures are associated with increased cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) in the first postoperative year. Long-term follow-up for CVA and mortality after hip fracture is lacking. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for CVA and follow mortality in hip fractures in a cohort with greater than 2 years follow-up. METHODS: We compared past medical history of patients with hip fractures to long-term survival and the occurrence of CVA. Past medical history, surgical intervention, CVA occurrence, and death were queried from the electronic medical recorder system. Level of significance was set at p < 0.05 with 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Two thousand one hundred ninety-five patients met inclusion criteria. Mean follow-up was 5 years. One hundred ten (5.01%) patients were diagnosed with post-fracture CVA. Forty-one patients had CVA in the first year and 55 patients had CVA between 1 to 5 years after surgery. Among the potential risk factors, hypertension (HTN), atrial fibrillation (AF), and diabetes mellitus (DM) had the highest odds ratio for CVA (OR = 1.885, p value = 0.005; OR = 1.79, p value = 0.012; OR = 1.66, p value = 0.012). The median survival time in patients with CVA was 51.12 ± 3.76 months compared to 59.60 ± 0.93 months in patients without CVA (p = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS: HTN, AF, and DM are significant risk factors for the occurrence of CVA after hip fracture. The majority of CVAs occur between the first and fifth year postoperatively, and CVA is a negative prognostic factor for postoperative survival.