Influenza
and heart attack are things we don’t normally associate together, but the two
are more connected than you might think.
A recent study found
that a person’s chances of having a heart attack, or myocardial infarction,
increase significantly after a flu diagnosis. In the study, people who had been
diagnosed with the flu in the last seven days were six times more likely to
have a heart attack than people in the control group who were not diagnosed
with the flu.
This
study further points out what we already know — that influenza is very
stressful for your body.
The connection between flu, pneumonia and heart attack
Anything
that stresses the body can affect the heart. There are many possible ways the
stress of an illness like the flu can provoke a heart attack, especially in
already susceptible populations. For patients who have significantly blocked
arteries, the flu can put extreme demand on the heart that the supply/demand
mismatch can cause heart damage. What is less clear is whether the activation
of the inflammatory response could also destabilize mild plaques and cause them
to rupture and lead to a heart attack.
This
same scenario applies to flu-induced pneumonia. Influenza affects the natural
defenses we have in our lungs to protect against bacterial infections, and can
therefore lead to pneumonia. This is very stressful for the heart and can
lead to the same supply/demand mismatch type of heart attack.
Although
this could happen to anyone, there is no question that patients whose immune
systems are compromised, especially older patients, are at the highest risk of both the flu and
potential complications. Comorbid conditions such as COPD, renal insufficiency
or diabetes tend to weaken the body’s ability to defend against infections of
any sort, and the immune response tends to be muted as well.
How to lower your risk
Everyone
needs to be aware, even the healthiest of people, that influenza is a very
serious infection. It can lead to pneumonia or other systemic bacterial
infections that can then lead to sepsis (widespread bacterial infections
associated with toxic complications) and respiratory failure or pneumonia.
As this
new study shows, that can put a person in increased danger of a heart attack.
The
most important way to deal with influenza is prevention. That means hand
sanitizing when touching anyone else’s hands or face as well as anything
inanimate in a public place. We should remember to always wash our hands
prior to touching our face. This is the singular most important way to avoid
the transmission of influenza.
The flu
vaccine is another incredibly important way to protect yourself from influenza.
Although the vaccine is not always as successful as we hope, it is our first
line of defense against a very contagious illness. It can also decrease the
severity of your illness if you do get the flu. If you think have been exposed
to influenza, Tamiflu can help reduce the duration and severity of influenza,
as well as potentially decrease the risk of pneumonia. Make sure you know what to do if you or a loved one
gets the flu.
Although
it would be hard to therefore conclude that prevention of influenza would
directly decrease the risk of heart attack, it would likely follow that
anything we can do to minimize the risk of flu and pneumonia would also
decrease the risk of a heart attack.
With
all the potentially life-threatening complications, it’s clear that illnesses
like the flu and pneumonia are hard on your body — especially your heart. So, when
it comes to the flu, take every precaution you can and don’t hesitate to get
care if you feel unwell.
Make
sure you’re prepared — keep your heart healthy and know your risk of heart disease.
No comments:
Post a Comment