DDHK. ORG - Influenza can actually increase the risk heart attack. A new study finds people who get influenza can be up to six times more likely to have a heart attack in the days following a flu diagnosis.
Republika launch, the research conclusions are scheduled to be presented on April 18 at European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The lead researcher, Dr Annemarijn de Boer with the Julius Center for Life Sciences and Primary Care at University Medical Center Utrecht, analyzed test results from 16 laboratories in the Netherlands, as well as medical and death records.
Of the 26.221 cases of influenza between 2008 and 2019, 401 people had at least one heart attack within the year of diagnosis.
Researchers found people were 6,16 times more likely to have a heart attack in the week following a cold than in the year before or after. However, if you do not include deaths that occurred outside the hospital, the increased risk is 2,42 times instead of 6,16 times.
“This may be because most of the flu testing in the Netherlands is done in hospitals, which means patients are more likely to experience severe illness,” said de Boer, as reported by Fox News, Sunday (23/4/2023).
Similar findings come from a 2018 Canadian study led by Dr Jeffrey C Kwong of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in Toronto, Ontario. Researchers found participants were 6,05 times more likely to have a heart attack in the week after diagnosis.
Certified cardiologist Dr. Mary Greene of Manhattan Cardiology in New York City who was not involved in the study reviewed her findings. Greene said while the methodology of this particular Dutch study didn't yield a lot of robust data, it certainly echoed previous studies that had similar conclusions.
"I agree that a flu diagnosis can increase the likelihood of a heart attack in certain groups of patients, especially those with underlying heart disease," Greene said.
The increase in heart attacks among patients diagnosed with influenza, stems in large part from the inflammatory process and the environment that is created in the body when a person is fighting the flu or other viral illness.
"Such inflammation in the body can make cholesterol plaques more prone to rupture and blood more likely to clot, which is the underlying mechanism of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and ischemic stroke," he said.
Craig Bober, a family medicine physician at Inspira Medical Group Primary Care Mantua in Sewell, New Jersey, US noted a major limitation of the study. He was not involved in research in the Netherlands.
"It is important to note that this study was not designed to reflect the general population because only looking at those who were tested in the hospital, these patients tend to be the sickest and are usually the oldest," Bober said.
However, this study certainly emphasizes the dangers of seemingly harmless virus-mediated infections. Greene stated, to help minimize the risk of heart attack, everyone should have a cardiovascular examination starting at age 40, or earlier if there is a family history of early heart disease. He also recommends an annual flu vaccine, namely the influenza vaccination. [DDHK News]
