Flu Increases Heart Attack Risk Within Seven Days
Influenza is known to increase the risk of heart attack, and a new study clarifies the magnitude of that risk in the short term. Researchers in the Netherlands examined records of 23,405 people who developed influenza between 2008 and 2019. Among the study population, 406 heart attacks occurred within one year before and one year after influenza infection. The relative risk of heart attack was sixfold higher in the first week after infection (known as the risk period) compared with one year before and 51 weeks after the risk period, the study found. For those without a history of hospitalization for coronary artery disease (CAD), the risk was 16 times higher within the first week of infection. The lower risk of heart attack among people with CAD may be due to the fact they were already taking medications like anticoagulants and blood pressure-lowering drugs, the study authors noted.
