Flu is linked to heart attack, research says
April 25, 2007 by Grace Ibay
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
One more reason for patients with heart problems to get vaccinated -
Influenza epidemics are associated with a rise in autopsy-confirmed coronary deaths.
An 8-year study found that coronary deaths due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and ischemic heart disease (IHD) coincided with peaks of influenza epidemics. Published April 17 in the European Heart Journal, the team of Dr. Mohammad Madjid of the University of Texas studied autopsy reports in St. Petersburg, Russia and found that the odds of an AMI and chronic IHD death increased by 1.30 during weeks of flu epidemics.
Influenza is believed to destabilize atherosclerotic plaques in arteries of the heart, which can lead to an acute heart attack. People with the flu also tend to be dehydrated with high fever, causing the heart to work harder.
Unfortunately, a third of heart-disease patients don’t conside themselves a high risk for cardiac-related flu complications, and Dr. Madjid asserted that up to 90,000 coronary deaths a year in the USA can be prevented if every high-risk patient received an annual flu vaccination.
The CDC recommends vaccination for people with chronic medical problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, COPD and HIV/AIDS.
[source: Eur Heart J 2007 epub April17. Madjid M, Miller CC, Zarubaev VV, et al.; CIDRAP; image]
Tags: flu, vaccination, chronic medical conditions, heart, disease
