Influenza vaccine shown to prevent heart attacks

British researchers have unveiled that having the seasonal influenza vaccine can reduce the risk of having a heart attack in people that are over the age of 40.

The researchers studied the data of 16,000 people living in England and Wales who had had a heart attack between the years of 2001 and 2007. They were then each matched to four similar people who had not had a heart attack. They were grouped in accordance to their sex, their age and their doctor. The researchers then investigated whether people in each group have received the seasonal flu jab, and if so when they had been administered it.

The study concluded that people who had had the seasonal influenza vaccination (which also protects against swine flu) had lowered their risk of having a heart attack by 20%. Most importantly, when they had had the injection had a significant impact on the degree to which it protected them from heart attacks. The people that had received their flu jab in the autumn months of September to mid November, had a greater immunity from heart attacks than those that had the jab later in the winter months of mid November, to February.

Some key information was missing from the people’s data which increased the risk of having a heart attack such as the participant’s blood pressure, their body mass index and their cholesterol levels. However, the data did include whether the people smoked or not.

Medical experts believe that the findings of the study support the current health recommendations for flu immunizations. They also indicate that the vaccination may have a protective effect on people who don’t already suffer from heart conditions. Further research is needed to confirm whether having the immunizing vaccine earlier on in the flu season has a beneficial effect on patient’s health.