Heart attacks 'could be halved by flu injection'

Flu injections could be beneficial for middle-aged people suffering from heart disease, a new study has suggested. Giving people with heart disease the flu jab could help to half their chances of heart attack, whilst also protecting them against influenza, which can lead to further health complications.

Individuals with narrowed arteries could be provided with protection against this causing heart attacks, according to research published in the journal 'Heart'. The yearly injection is already offered to people that suffer from a chronic heart disease by the NHS along with anyone older than 65, but the researchers of the study are suggesting that this offer should be extended.

Scientists now believe that it could be beneficial for the flu jab to be offered to everyone between the ages of 50 and 64 because heart disease is a common condition and doesn't always get diagnosed straight away.

Australian researchers took samples from 559 patients, all of whom were over the age of 40. The samples were taken from blood along with nose and throat swabs, and roughly half of them had come from patients that had a heart attack.

The research was designed to investigate a link between the flu and the possible thickening of blood, in response to previous research. Prior research suggested that contracting the influenza virus could be severely damaging to those that have weak or diseased hearts, as it could thicken the blood or lead to the inflammation of already narrowed arteries. Both of these physical responses could lead to heart attack.  

It was found, in the new research, that the flu virus did not increase the risk of heart attack. However, it also found that the flu jab itself was highly beneficial as it helped to protect against heart attacks. Heart disease patients that receive the injection could have their chances of heart attack reduced by 45 per cent.

Heart disease is a prevalent problem throughout the UK and so the availability of the flu injection to a wider range of patients, whether they have been diagnosed or not, could help to reduce mortality rates.