Take It To Heart

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By Newsweek Editors

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There are plenty of excuses to avoid getting a flu shot this fall, but here's a good reason to stop procrastinating: it might help ward off a heart attack or stroke.

Researchers have long found that heart attacks are more common in the winter than in the summer. Growing evidence suggests that the infections that cause flu and pneumonia may be partly to blame. Infections can raise blood pressure, increase the number of circulating white blood cells and push cholesterol levels in unhealthy directions. They can also cause cholesterol-filled plaque to break apart, creating artery-blocking clots that can lead to strokes or heart attacks. Although far from conclusive, two new studies seem to underscore the link between flu shots and heart health. French researchers found that 90 people hospitalized for stroke were less likely to have gotten flu shots than a control group of 180. An Argentine team tracked 301 men and women who had survived a heart attack or undergone an artery-opening procedure. Half were vaccinated, half weren't. Six months later, 98 percent of those who'd received the shot were still alive, compared with 92 percent of those who didn't get it.

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