When you got your flu shot this year, you probably thought that the main benefit was that you’d sail through the flu season without coming down the the latest “flu bug.”
A new study just released has found another benefit for rolling up your sleeve: a healthier heart.
Conducted in Poland and presented in November to the American Heart Association, the study compared groups of people who received the flu vaccine with those who did not. All of the patients had coronary artery disease. Half received a flu vaccine; the other half a placebo. After 296 days it was discovered that the patients who did not receive the flu shot were twice as likely as the others to have a heart attack, undergo unplanned surgery to open blocked arteries, or die from heart-related causes.
Researchers concluded that there’s no magic in the flu shot but that people with coronary artery disease are already vulnerable, and a hard case of the flu is often enough to put them over the edge.
Every year influenza kills 36,000 persons in the U.S., yet only one out of three adults receives a flu shot in any given year.
By the way, it’s not too late to get your flu shot. Call your doctor and make an appointment. If you’re under Medicare, the shot is free.
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