© 1983 Oxford University Press
research-article |
CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIAS AND FEMORAL NECK FRACTURE
Department of Geriatric Medicine, The Queen's University of Belfast Whitla Medical Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL
Nineteen of 45 consecutive patients admitted to hospital with fracture of the neck of femur had ambulatory electrocardiography performed on the fourteenth post-operative day. The frequency of cardiac arrhythmias was compared with control subjects who had undergone total hip replacement operations. No significant difference was found. None of the cardiac arrhythmias in the fracture or control subjects was associated with symptoms. Two fracture patients and three control subjects suffered an acute myocardial infarct peri-operatively and were excluded from the study. Fracture patients on drug therapy for heart disease had an increased six-month mortality rate compared with those not on such therapy. Episodic cardiac arrhythmias do not appear to be an important contributory factor to fracture of the neck of femur in the elderly.