Do you want to get a flu shot?

According to a Houston Methodist review published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, although the death rate and flu complication rates of heart disease patients in the United States are relatively high, the annual flu The vaccination rate is still very low

The influenza vaccination rate for adults under 65 with heart disease in the United States is less than 50%, while the vaccination rate for elderly people with heart disease is 80%

Dr.

As we all know, influenza can cause severe respiratory symptoms such as pneumonia, bronchitis and bacterial infections of the lungs

But recent research shows:

• Cardiovascular deaths and influenza epidemics surged at the same time

  
  

• Patients are six times more likely to have a heart attack within a week after contracting the flu than at any time in the year before or after infection

  
  

• In a study of 336,000 hospitalized patients with influenza, 11.

  
  

• Another study investigated 90,000 laboratory-confirmed influenza infections, and the results showed that the incidence of acute cardiovascular events was surprisingly similar, at 11.

  
  

• Another study found that one-eighth (12.

  
  

The reason why the flu puts so much pressure on the heart and vascular system is related to the body's inflammatory response to infection

Inflammation occurs when your body's "first responders"-white blood cells and the things they produce to protect you-gather in an area and begin to fight infection, bacteria, or viruses

The increased amount of exercise can also cause various traffic jams, leading to blood clots, increased blood pressure, and even swelling or scarring of the heart

In addition, non-cardiac complications caused by viral diseases, including pneumonia and respiratory failure, can make heart failure symptoms or arrhythmia much more severe

In short, the extra stress on the cardiovascular system may overwhelm the already weakened heart muscle

As influenza viruses continue to mutate, scientists have to change vaccines every year to match the possible chain of epidemics

Recently, studies have been able to show that the vaccine not only effectively protects the general population and the most vulnerable age groups (over 65,2) from severe influenza, but it also prevents cardiovascular mortality, especially the high-risk population

Some recent discoveries:

• Adults who were vaccinated were less likely to be hospitalized due to influenza by 37%, and less likely to be hospitalized due to influenza by 82%
  .
  Among patients admitted to the hospital due to influenza, the likelihood of vaccinated people entering the intensive care unit was reduced by 59%
  .
  The time for vaccinated patients to be admitted to the ICU is 4 days less than that of unvaccinated patients
  .
  

• If the patient is infected with influenza, vaccination is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events (2.
  9% VS 4.
  7%)
  .
  Among high-risk patients with the most active coronary artery disease, vaccination is associated with a fairly good prognosis
  .
  

• Patients admitted to the hospital for acute coronary syndrome were randomly assigned to receive the flu vaccine or not to be vaccinated before being discharged from the hospital
  .
  The incidence of major cardiovascular events in the vaccine group was lower than that in the control group (9.
  5% VS 19%)
  .
  

Due to the benefits of the flu vaccine and the risk of flu infection of cardiovascular disease, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many other international associations strongly recommend that patients with cardiovascular disease receive the flu vaccine every year
.

Clinicians should ensure a high influenza vaccination rate, especially in people with underlying chronic diseases, to prevent acute cardiovascular events related to influenza
.

Unfortunately, many heart patients visit their cardiologists more often than their primary care providers, and cardiology practice usually does not provide flu vaccination, although the recommended recommendations may change in the future
.
Prior to this, both cardiology providers and primary care providers were obliged to inform their patients of the increased risks and the importance of vaccination
.

For heart patients, there are two important steps to reduce the risk:

• Make sure to get the flu vaccine from your local pharmacy or primary care provider
  .
  The sooner you get it, the better it will protect you, because you never know when the virus will begin to spread
  .
  

• Make sure you are taking medication and follow your recommended diet, exercise, and stress reduction plan
  .
  If your heart condition is stable and you eventually get the flu, you may experience fewer and fewer serious complications, rather than poor management of your heart condition
  .
  

Reference: "Determinants of Influenza Vaccine Uptake in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease and Strategies for Improvement" by Priyanka Bhugra, Gowtham R.
Grandhi, Reed Mszar, Priyanka Satish, Rahul Singh, Michael Blaha, Ron Blankstein, Salim S.
Virani, Miguel Cainzos- Achirica and Khurram Nasir, 28 July 2021, Journal of the American Heart Association.