Alendronate, a medication used to prevent fractures in women with osteoporosis, may be associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a type of abnormal heart rhythm, according to a report in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Other recent studies have reported atrial fibrillation as an unexpected adverse effect of bisphosphonates, a class of drugs that includes alendronate and other medications that affect the body's calcium levels, according to background information in the article. Atrial fibrillation occurs when the atria, the smaller upper chambers of the heart, begin to beat irregularly and rapidly.
Susan R. Heckbert, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Washington and Group Health, Seattle, and colleagues studied 719 women with confirmed atrial fibrillation that began between 2001 and 2004 and 966 control women who were the same age but did not have atrial fibrillation.
More patients with atrial fibrillation than control patients had ever used alendronate (47 or 6.5 percent vs. 40 or 4.1 percent). After adjusting for other risk factors, having taken alendronate was associated with a higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared with never having taken any bisphosphonate. The researchers estimate that approximately 3 percent of new atrial fibrillation cases in this population may be attributed to alendronate use.