At the conference, Dr. Morteza Naghavi, an instructor of medicine at the University of Texas in Houston, presented a study that found those heart patients who received flu vaccines were 67 percent less likely to get a second heart attack than those who did not. He based his study on 233 patients who were treated between October 1997 and March 1998. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only recommends that the elderly and patients with poor immune systems get the flu vaccine. It might also be possible, using such a database, to determine whether patients are at greater risk of first heart attacks during flu season. Over the years, doctors have suggested everything from the amount of sunlight exposure to holiday weight gain as an explanation for why hospital beds tend to fill up come wintertime.
Doctors have a number of hypotheses.
The flu might actually infect the fat that blocks arteries. This infection could cause the blockage to rupture, which can cause a heart attack. Other possible triggers include psychological stress and high fever. I think if people would stay well-hydrated, stay home from work, turn on a great movie, stay in bed, they wouldn't be at risk. For more information about influenza, check this out For the rest of the latest health news, click here .