The interplay between bone and heart health as reflected in medication effects: A narrative review

Abstract

There is mounting evidence of an association between osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease that extends beyond shared risk factors for these conditions. In turn, the medications used to treat each of these conditions can have effects that impact the other organ system: medications used in heart disease have the potential to affect bone health, while osteoporosis medications may modify cardiovascular health. While data in this subject area are limited by the paucity of large randomized controlled trials with bone mineral density or fracture risk as primary outcomes, this review explores the data available that can provide some insight into these reciprocal effects of medications on bone and heart health. Data on bone health effects of the loop and thiazide diuretics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, statins, warfarin, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, metformin, and medications impacting the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system are examined; the cardiovascular effects of osteoporosis therapies and vitamin D are also discussed. Importantly, while most data in this realm are inconclusive, recognizing the parallels between cardiovascular and bone disorders and how this is reflected in medication effects might prompt the clinician to consider the indirect impact of drug regimens when making therapeutic choices for patients with osteoporosis and heart disease.