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Heart attack risk rises 6x in week post-flu – Study

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People who get the flu may face a six - fold higher risk of heart attack in the week following infection , said a study Wednesday that bolsters the need for widespread vaccinations against the flu .

The risk of heart attack — or myocardial infarction — is particularly acute in older adults , said the report in the New England of Medicine .

“ Our findings are important because an association between influenza and acute myocardial infarction reinforces the importance of vaccination , ” said lead author Jeff Kwong , a scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Public Health Ontario.

The study was based on nearly 20 , 000 adult cases of laboratory- confirmed influenza infection in Ontario, Canada from 2009 to 2014 .

Of those, 332 patients were hospitalized for a heart attack within one year of their flu infection .

The risk appeared highest in the first week , particularly for older people , those with influenza B infections , and patients experiencing their first heart attack .

Other respiratory viruses were also seen to raise the risk of heart attack , though not as much as the flu .

Previous studies have also pointed to a link between the flu and cardiac crises and death.

Kwong urged new “international guidelines that advocate for influenza immunization in those at high risk of a heart attack . ”

He also called on people at risk of heart disease to “take precautions to prevent respiratory infections , and especially influenza , through measures including vaccinations and hand washing. ”

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