Flu triggers a heart attack

In a study to illustrate what experts have long believed, flu can kill people even if the cause of death is not directly affected by the disease, Researchers say flu can trigger a fatal heart attack.

(Photo: uth.tmc.edu) The report shows that seasonal influenza viruses can worsen heart disease, deaths from heart attacks and heart disease are more common during the flu season. .

Dr Mohammad Madjid of the University of Texas at Houston, who led the study, said: 'This is the cause of an additional 90,000 deaths a year in the United States.'

The researchers published in the European Heart Journal: Their findings add to the list of reasons why people need to get a flu shot every year. They also said that people with cardiovascular disease should follow the medication regularly.

Dr Madjid said: 'Our research has shown that influenza is associated with an increase in coronary death deaths. This requires efforts to increase immunization rates in people at increased risk for coronary heart disease. '

He said: 'This is especially important when there is an influenza pandemic, when we can see increased mortality in older people and people with cardiovascular disease or there are many risk factors. coronary circuit. '

The influenza virus changes every year and some of these viruses often circulate in any season of the year, increasing the risk of getting the flu in most people. Dr Madjid said: 'Every year 10-20% of people get the flu and I estimate that we can prevent up to 90,000 deaths every year (in the US) if every patient is at high risk. get an annual flu shot. '

Flu shot (Photo: uky.edu)

Dr. Madjid and colleagues at the St. Joseph's Influenza Research Institute Petersburg in Russia studied the reports of autopsies of people who died of heart disease in this city during the period of 1993-2000.

He said: 'Only a few people in the community are vaccinated with influenza or statin drugs. This helps us to see what happened naturally when these drugs are not available. "

They found that 11,892 people died of heart attacks and 23,000 died of chronic heart disease. Compared to the weeks when there was no flu epidemic, in the weeks of the flu epidemic, deaths from heart attacks increased by about one-third and deaths from chronic heart disease increased by about one-tenth.

Dr Madjid said: 'This study shows that influenza is an important factor in the onset of heart attacks by influenza, a serious infection with a high and preventable disease rate. If people can see that the flu vaccine helps protect the heart, people at high risk will definitely get the flu vaccine every year. '

Linh Anh