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The Flu May Increase Your Risk of Heart Attack: Get Your Flu Shot

The flu has become a huge issue in the US.  According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the first week or so of the flue makes you more susceptible to a heart attack.

Based on a study they found that among 148,307 cases of patients who were tested for influenza, 19,729 turned up positive for the flu.  Among the patients who tested positive for the flu, 332 patients had at least one heart attack in the year before or after their flu patient was tested.

Twenty of those heart attacks occurred within one week of a positive flu test. That is a rate of 20 heart attacks per week.  The risk of a heart attack was six times greater in the first week after flu testing than at other times when the flu was less likely to be a factor.

One quarter of the patients in the study were 65 years old, and the rest were older. When the researchers examined the two groups the risk of heart attack only held up in the older group.

The data in the study came from Ontario, Canada, where residents have public health insurance and universal access to medical care. Information on influenza test results came from the Flu and Other Respiratory Viruses Research Cohort, and heart attack hospitalizations were tracked by the Discharge Abstract Database of the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

They found that it’s not the flu itself that’s the problem — it’s the biological impact of a respiratory infection.

As always, you should be getting vaccinated for the flu.  Especially with news coming out every day of how horrible it can be. Having health insurance will keep your flu shot cheap and may be completely covered.  Call Cosmo Insurance Agency to sign up for health insurance, life insurance , or long term care plan. 732-363-3888.

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2024