In the days following a diagnosis of influenza, the risk of having a heart attack increases sixfold, according to a new study.
On April 18 in Copenhagen, Denmark, researchers were set to present their findings at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, as reported by Medscape.
Influenza Increases Heart Attack Risk
Dr. Annemarijn de Boer of the University Medical Center Utrecht’s Julius Center for Life Sciences and Primary Care analyzed data from 16 laboratories across the Netherlands, in addition to patient health and mortality records.
The report found that of the 26,221 patients diagnosed with influenza between 2008 and 2019, 401 had at least one heart attack in the year following their diagnosis. The risk of having a heart attack in the week after an influenza infection was also found to be 6.16 times higher than in the year before or after the infection.
The risk was reduced from 6.16 times to 2.42 times when deaths outside of hospitals were disregarded. According to De Boer, this is likely because the vast majority of Dutch flu tests are administered in hospitals, where patients are more likely to be gravely ill.
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Consistent with previous studies
A 2018 Canadian study led by Dr. Jeffrey C. Kwong of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in Toronto, Ontario, produced comparable results.
In the week following diagnosis, participants were 6.05 times more likely to experience a heart attack.
Dr. Mary Greene, a board-certified cardiologist at Manhattan Cardiology in New York City, was not involved in the study, but she did review the findings.
The study reflects previous studies that reached similar conclusions, although the methodology of this particular Dutch study did not yield as many reliable results.
According to Greene, the inflammatory response and the environment created within the body when battling the flu or other viral infections are largely responsible for the rise in heart attacks among patients with influenza-related diagnoses.
This inflammation in the body can make cholesterol plaques more susceptible to rupture and blood more likely to clot, which is the mechanism underlying both myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke.
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