/assets/images/provider/photos/2824937.jpeg)
Do you usually get a flu vaccine? If not, we can give you a compelling reason to change your habits. The shot can do more than protect you from the flu. It may also prevent a heart attack.
At Advanced Heart Care Associates, our providers specialize in preventive cardiology services that keep your heart healthy and support a healthy lifestyle. One crucial part of preventive heart care is getting a yearly flu shot. Here’s why.
Yes, the flu can trigger a heart attack
No doubt having the flu increases your risk of having a heart attack. Adults are six times more likely to have a heart attack within one week of being diagnosed with the flu.
One in eight adults hospitalized with the flu had a serious cardiac event. Of those, nearly one-third were treated in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 7% died.
A serious cardiac event includes heart attacks and other conditions that damage your heart, such as acute heart failure and a sudden reduction in blood flow to the heart.
People who didn’t suffer a serious cardiac event had other heart complications, such as myocarditis (heart muscle inflammation) and pericarditis (inflammation around the heart).
While age, smoking, diabetes, kidney disease, and a previously diagnosed heart condition increase your risk of having a flu-triggered heart attack, otherwise healthy adults are also at risk.
How flu causes a heart attack
Seasonal flu is a viral infection that primarily affects your nose and lungs. However, the infection causes inflammation throughout the body, impacting the heart and coronary arteries, increasing blood coagulation (which can cause clots), raising blood pressure, and reducing blood oxygen.
These changes make your heart work harder, straining and weakening the heart muscles. As the flu makes breathing hard, the respiratory distress adds to the stress on your heart. The stress leads to heart attacks, causes irregular heartbeats, and worsens existing conditions like heart failure.
If you already have clogged coronary arteries (atherosclerosis), the additional inflammation caused by the viral infection can cause the fatty plaque to rupture. Pieces of the plaque may become lodged in the artery, causing a heart attack by blocking blood flow.
Clogged arteries lower the blood supply to your heart, and the flu further decreases the oxygen supply. Their combined effect spells trouble for your heart, possibly leading to a heart attack.
The flu triggers all these events, putting excessive stress on your heart and increasing your risk for a heart attack.
Preventing flu-induced heart problems
The best way to protect yourself from a flu-induced heart attack is to prevent the flu, and that means getting a seasonal flu vaccination.
Getting the shot can lower your risk of a heart attack by 36% to 50%. And if you get sick despite being vaccinated, having the shot significantly reduces your risk of being hospitalized or requiring intensive care.
You can take other steps to lower your risk of getting the flu and to avoid spreading the virus, including:
- Getting antiviral medications within the first two days of flu symptoms
- Avoiding close contact with people who have the flu
- Covering your mouth and nose when sneezing
- Avoid touching your mouth and nose
- Washing your hands regularly
- Eating healthy meals and exercising
Maintaining good nutrition and regular exercise helps keep your immune system strong, enabling you to fight flu-causing viruses more effectively.
We’re available to answer questions about the flu and your heart, recommend steps you can take to stay healthy, and provide comprehensive cardiology care.
To learn more about preventive cardiology, schedule your appointment with the experts at Advanced Heart Care Associates. We have offices in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada.