The influenza vaccine is associated with a reduced risk for cardiac morbidity and mortality, but despite this advantage, there is still a high proportion of people with heart problems who are not vaccinated.
In a study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, scientists suggest people with heart disease who forego annual flu vaccination for fear of having an adverse reaction may wish to reconsider.
They found people with high-risk heart disease who experience mild to moderate side effects are less likely to be hospitalized for heart or lung problems or die from any cause.
The findings suggest mild vaccine-related side effects, such as injection site pain, may signal a strong immune response and better overall health.
The study adds to a large body of evidence supporting annual flu vaccination for people with heart disease.
Previous research shows half of U.S. adults hospitalized for the flu have heart disease, and the risk of having a first heart attack is six times greater following a flu infection.
Studies show that risk can be substantially lowered by receiving the flu vaccine, but less than half of U.S. adults do so.
In this study, the team analyzed data for 5,210 participants for whom adverse reaction data were available. Participants, who were an average of 65 years old, received a standard or high-dose flu vaccine.
In all, researchers analyzed data for a total of 7,154 vaccinations given over three flu seasons.
Participants were followed until the end of each flu season (up to 10 months) to see whether complications developed. Deaths were recorded for up to three years following vaccination.
The team found overall, 37.8% of people experienced some type of side effect, with most of those reactions (76.4%) being mild.
Injection site pain was the most common side effect, accounting for 60.3% of adverse reactions, followed by muscle aches and pains (34.5%) and overall discomfort (22%).
Just 2.9% of adverse reactions were considered severe, representing 1.1% of vaccines administered.
People who experienced adverse reactions were more likely to be women and to have been hospitalized for heart attacks.
They also were more likely to be younger, current smokers, and overweight compared with those who had no reaction to the vaccine.
Only reactions that involved the injection site were associated with reduced cardiopulmonary or death risks.
Overall, those who experienced mild to moderate injection site reactions had a 19% lower risk of dying for any reason or of being hospitalized for heart or lung problems.
While a very small percentage of people in the study had a severe reaction to the vaccine, those who did were 68% more likely to die or be hospitalized, a finding that suggests this group may be predisposed to having a malfunctioning immune system.
The team says the results applied only to people at high risk for heart problems and might not be transferable to the general public.
If you care about the flu, please read studies about new universal flu vaccine can offer broad protection, and when you should get the new COVID-19 booster and the flu shot.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about how to cut heart attack risk by 50% in people with high blood pressure, and results showing common snacks may lead to high blood pressure, and heart rhythm disorder.
The study was conducted by Dr. Alexander Peikert et al and published in the European Journal of Heart Failure.
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