Should heart patients get the flu vaccine?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 5 Comments

flu sneezeby Carolyn Thomas   ♥  @HeartSisters

People with heart disease have a harder time coping with the flu than people without heart disease. This is because the influenza virus produces significant stress on the cardiovascular system – breathing difficulty, changes in blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and even direct effects on the heart – that make this illness particularly difficult and even dangerous for anyone who has heart disease.

That’s why I went for my flu vaccine this morning at my local health clinic. In fact, I had two flu shots today, one in each arm: one for the pandemic H1N1 influenza, and one for Influenza A&B, the ‘normal’ seasonal flu.  I was assessed as a high priority flu shot recipient because I’m under the age of 65 with a heart condition – just barely ahead of the NHL’s Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs hockey teams whose players are apparently (who knew?) in a very high risk and high priority group, too, right up there with heart attack survivors.

Whoever we are, getting hit by the flu is no picnic, as described in this love letter from your flu bug:

“I want you.
I shall seek and find you.
I shall take you to bed and have my way with you.
I will make you ache, shake and sweat till you moan and groan.
I will make you beg for mercy.
I will exhaust you to the point that you will be relieved when I’m finished with you, and you will be weak for days.”

All my love, 

H1N1

The strongest evidence for protection from a flu shot in those with heart disease comes from the Flu Vaccination in Acute Coronary Syndromes study. Researchers followed patients who had been hospitalized for either a heart attack or a planned angioplasty, half of whom were randomly assigned to receive a flu vaccine and half remained unvaccinated. Over the next year, twice as many of the unvaccinated group (23%) died of heart disease, had a non-fatal heart attack, or developed severe ischemia (insufficient blood supply to the heart tissue), compared with those who were vaccinated (11%).   Continue reading “Should heart patients get the flu vaccine?” →

Seven tips from Dr. Oz to prevent a heart attack

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 9 Comments

dr. oz

UPDATE: June 16, 2016:   This 2009 post has been removed after I decided that I cannot in good conscience help in any way to promote physicians who recommend goofy therapies, remedies or unfortunate “miracle in a bottle!” cures (what the watchdog site Respectful Insolence has aptly described as “ranging from fairly pedestrian to pure quackery”).

To find out what Dr. Oz “evidence” is really all about, watch his compelling skewering at the hands of the astute U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill.

 

Omega-3 is no help for depression in heart patients

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 1 Comment

omega 3 pillDepression can strike up to 65% of heart patients following a cardiac event, yet fewer than 10% are appropriately diagnosed  For those in that 10% group, encouraging research in the past has suggested that taking an omega-3 fish oil supplement along with an anti-depressant drug  may boost the clinical effectiveness of that drug for heart patients suffering from depression. But a new study led by Dr. Robert Carney of Washington University reveals “disappointing” results that failed to show any improvement in symptoms by adding omega-3 to a heart patient’s anti-depressant medications.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in certain types of fish, nuts, and vegetable oils. Although they are believed to have positive cardiovascular effects, they did not help alleviate depression among the heart patients in this study.

Keep in mind, however, that when Dr. Carney expresses his disappointment and his high hopes in future studies for a more positive outcome when adding omega-3 to anti-depressant meds he is speaking as the lead author of a study in which the drug giant GlaxoSmithKline supported his research.  The world’s biggest drug company Pfizer supplied the sertraline (Zoloft), the anti-depressant studied alongside the supplement.  Continue reading “Omega-3 is no help for depression in heart patients” →

What you need to know about your heart medications

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 15 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

One of the most surprising additions to the daily morning routine since my heart attack has been the fistful of pills that I now take every day.

It can be a confusing mix of medications, each for a different purpose, and each with different benefits and side effects.  Here’s just a sampling of some of the more common cardiac meds that doctors prescribe for heart patients. (Content updated January 4, 2023). Continue reading “What you need to know about your heart medications” →