Got Heart Disease? Get a Flu Shot!
Reported September 29, 2006
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology have some good advice for people with heart disease: get an annual flu shot.
The two organizations teamed up to issue a new advisory recommending the shots for everyone with a cardiovascular condition, such as a previous heart attack, angioplasty, or other heart-related problem. Studies show cardiac patients who receive the shots are significantly less likely to suffer from additional heart problems or die.
The most convincing evidence was seen in a trial involving about 300 patients who were hospitalized with either a heart attack or a planned angioplasty or stenting procedure. About half the group was vaccinated for the flu, while the other half wasn’t. In the year following the vaccination, 8 percent of the unvaccinated group died vs. just 2 percent of the vaccinated group.
The organizations note only one-in-three heart patients typically receives the flu shot in any given year and call on cardiologists to take the lead in changing that statistic. Right now, only about half of cardiologists offer the shots in their offices. If more heart doctors would provide the vaccine, more heart patients would receive it.
The best time to receive the flu shot is September through November, but the shots should still be given through January or later because the flu season generally doesn’t peak until January through March.
Heart patients need to receive the actual flu shot, not the newer nasal-spray vaccine, according to the advisory. That’s because the shot includes an inactive form of the flu virus and therefore cannot cause influenza-like illnesses, whereas the nasal-spray vaccine includes a partially live version that could cause these illnesses in vulnerable people.
SOURCE: American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Science advisory