Get your shot folks. It might prevent flu – and a heart attack – says new research.
The flu may trigger heart attacks and raise the risk of dying from heart disease, said researchers who analyzed data collected the past 75 years. A review of 39 studies conducted from 1932 to 2008 found consistent links between influenza and major heart attacks, bolstering previous observations that the heart can be damaged in patients with influenza, according to the report in Lancet Infectious Diseases. People at risk for heart attacks, including those with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, should get vaccinated against influenza, said the researchers led by Andrew Hayward from University College London’s Center for Infectious Disease Epidemiology. While the immunization is recommended for people with chronic conditions, fewer than half of them in the U.K. were vaccinated last year, the researchers said. – From Bloomberg