In a new study from the University of Connecticut, researchers found that influenza and pneumonia vaccinations are associated with fewer hospital deaths in patients with heart failure.
One out of five individuals will develop heart failure in their lifetime. An estimated 26 million people are affected worldwide.
Heart failure is a serious condition in which the heart cannot pump blood around the body as well at it should.
It leads to a build-up of fluid in the lungs, causing shortness of breath and coughing, and impacts people’s quality of life, often requiring urgent hospitalizations.
Respiratory infections such as influenza and pneumonia make heart failure worse, and annual vaccinations are recommended.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shone the spotlight on the importance of vaccination to prevent respiratory infections, particularly for people with diseases like heart failure
While it is known that inoculations protect against respiratory infections and that these infections exacerbate heart failure, few studies have compared outcomes of vaccinated versus unvaccinated patients.
In the study, the team tested 2,912,137 patients with heart failure who had a hospital admission from 2010 to 2014. The average age was 70 years.
Just 1.4% of patients in the study had the flu vaccine and 1.4% had the pneumonia vaccine.
The researchers found the rates of in-hospital mortality were much lower in patients who received the flu vaccine (1.3%) compared to those who did not receive the flu vaccine (3.6%).
Similarly, rates of in-hospital mortality were much lower in patients inoculated against pneumonia (1.2%) compared to those who were not inoculated (3.6%).
The findings provide further impetus for annual immunizations in patients with heart failure.
The team noted that serious reactions to flu and pneumonia vaccinations are very rare, happen within a few hours, and can be effectively treated.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how to chomp away plaques that cause heart attacks and findings of this sleep problem puts a strain on the heart.
For more information about heart disease treatment and prevention, please see recent studies about this common drug may protect against heart attacks in a unique way and results showing that these foods may worsen heart failure.
The study was presented at the ESC Congress conference. One author of the study is Dr. Karthik Gonuguntla.
Copyright © 2021 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
