Flu may increase heart attack risk

Every day, the news about this year’s flu seems to be getting worse.  And now a new Canadian study suggests that those suffering from influenza have a more pronounced risk of having a heart attack.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study found that heart attacks are six times more likely seven days after a flu diagnosis, compared to a year before or after contracting the virus.

Usually simply referred to as “the flu,” influenza is a contagious disease caused by influenza viruses picked up from the atmosphere or through close contact with infected individuals.  Flu viruses usually infect the nose and throat, causing sneezing, coughing, a sore throat, fever, body aches, extreme fatigue, and headaches.

The suspicion between influenza and heart attacks has always been a concern in the field of medicine.  However, it has been difficult to make an association between the two events.   This current study shines a light on what appears to be a connection.  Researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and from Public Health Ontario (PHO), found that individuals at risk for heart disease appear to have an increased likelihood of experiencing a heart attack in the first week after becoming infected with the flu.

The study analyzed almost 20,000 adults based in Ontario who had the flu between 2009 and 2014.  From this number, 332 of the 20,000 adults had a heart attack as noted from hospital records.  The heart attack rate was 20 admissions per week seven days after a flu diagnosis, compared to only 3.3 heart admissions a week in the year before or after a flu diagnosis.

Also found was that the age of the individual increased the risk slightly for anyone over the age of 65.  Of the 332 people who had a heart attack following a flu diagnosis, 69% had not gotten a flu shot.  The study’s findings of an association between influenza and acute myocardial infarction, reinforces the importance of being vaccinated against the flu. 

Medical professionals are continuing to remind us all that individuals should get the flu shot and to be vigilant about washing their hands frequently each day.  Flu symptoms can come on suddenly within a matter of hours.  Symptoms include what was noted above previously and in children, they can also display gastrointestinal symptoms of vomiting and having diarrhea.

Dangers of the flu include causing inflammation of the heart, brain or muscle tissues, along with multiple organ failure.  What leads to the deadly nature of the flu are three main reasons of which any of them can lead to a heart attack – co-infection with another microbe such as strep; already having an existing health condition such as heart disease and asthma; and a so-called cytokine storm marked by an overwhelming immune system response to infection.