Hip replacement raises stroke risk after operation

Posted 14/11/2012

Having a total hip replacement increases the risk of a stroke in the year after the surgery according to records of patients in Denmark.  

Data from more than 66,000 operations has shown the odds of a stroke increased more than four fold in the fortnight immediately after surgery. The research in the journal Stroke showed that taking drugs such as aspirin could reduce the risk. The Stroke Association has said the results should be taken very seriously.

Hip replacements are a very common operation carried out on hundreds of thousands of people around the world each year.  Researchers in the UK and the Netherlands said the probability of having a stroke in the year after surgery was 2% compared with 0.4% if they did not have the operation. The risk peaks in the weeks after surgery before returning to normal over the course of the year.

Julie Crossley, a Medical Injury Lawyer at Ashtons Legal, notes: “The results of the survey are interesting, but a further worry for patients who have to undergo this type of surgery and who are already vulnerable by their age and previous medical history”.Click here for further information about our Medical Injury services.