People with heart failure are more susceptible to complications from the flu than other people. However, a new study has revealed that flu vaccines can have a significant impact on lifespan.
Certain people are at higher risk for flu-related complications, including death. This includes people 65 and older, pregnant women, and people with medical conditions, such as heart disease.
The new study, published in the journal Circulation , has examined the impact that a flu vaccine can have on the survival rate of people diagnosed with heart failure. This group of people is usually of a certain age and is likely to have an extra variety of health problems. For these people, getting the flu can be a very serious problem.
Experiment
A team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) analyzed data from a total of 134,048 Danes who had recently been diagnosed with heart failure. The researchers collected the data from several national registries that store information on diagnoses, prescriptions and causes of death in hospitals.
Each person born in Denmark is given a unique personal identification number, and this number allowed researchers to follow particular people for 12 years , from 2003 to 2015. Many findings from the study came to light.
Analysis of the data showed, first, that the number of people who had been vaccinated against the flu had increased.
In 2003, 16% of people with heart failure got a flu shot. In 2015, it increased to 52%.
The researchers also found a link between flu shots and “an 18% reduction in the risk of premature death .” This reduction existed even after taking into account other factors, such as medications, other health problems, and financial situations.
The importance of vaccines
The research also identified the importance of having regular flu shots. For example, receiving an annual flu shot after a heart failure diagnosis showed a 19% reduction in cardiovascular death and death from all causes compared to those who were not vaccinated.
Getting the flu vaccine less than once a year resulted in an 8% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular death and a “13% reduction in the risk of death from all causes ” compared to people that they had never received the vaccine.
The last factor the researchers identified was the timing of the flu vaccination. The team found a reduction in the number of cardiovascular and all-cause deaths when volunteers received the vaccine at the beginning of the flu season, which is typically around September or October, rather than November and December, for example.
Scientists expect heart failure to become a growing problem in the coming years, making these results potentially useful for a population now living longer. One limitation of this research, however, is that the scientists only studied people newly diagnosed with heart failure.
“While this research only looked at patients with newly diagnosed heart failure, protection from a flu vaccine is likely to benefit any heart failure patient, ” explains Daniel Modin.
“I hope that our study can help make doctors and cardiologists who care for heart failure patients aware of the importance of influenza vaccination for their patients. Influenza vaccination can be considered a standard treatment for similar heart failure. to medications “, concludes the researcher.
Referencia: Influenza Vaccine in Heart Failure: Cumulative Number of Vaccinations, Frequency, Timing, and Survival: A Danish Nationwide Cohort Study. Daniel Modin, Mads Emil Jørgensen, Gunnar Gislason, Jan Skov Jensen, Lars Køber, Brian Claggett, Sheila M. Hegde, Scott D. Solomon, Christian Torp-Pedersen, Tor Biering-Sørensen. Originally published10 Dec 2018 Circulation. 2018.
