Heart patients told to have flu jab

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Researchers found a doubling of risk of both heart attack and stroke in the week following respiratory infection, which reduced over time so that there was little excess risk beyond one month.

Their results are published in the online edition of the European Heart Journal.

The authors of the study applied to the British Heart Foundation for funding to enable them to undertake research to confirm or refute the findings of previous studies based on information from general practice which showed that respiratory infections were a strong risk factor for stroke.

The group, led by Tim Clayton and Tom Meade of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine's Medical Statistics Unit, worked from a a database containing details of some two million patients registered with approximately 500 GPs.

They found that the risk did not depend on age or gender and there was also some evidence of an association between recent urinary tract infection and subsequent heart attack or stroke.

The researchers say that the benefit of reducing respiratory infection, either through ensuring high immunisation rates or by treating and preventing infection, may be substantial.

And Dr Mike Knapton, director of prevention and care at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We recommend that anyone with heart disease has the flu jab. Influenza is a serious infection, particularly in patients with heart disease such as heart failure, and it could even trigger a heart attack.

"Flu is a potential killer and heart patients are offered the flu jab for free, no matter what their age. We strongly recommend they take up the offer to give themselves protection against the flu."