Researchers have found a particularly surprising benefit for flu vaccines

A new study finds that a flu vaccine reduces the risk of heart rhythm disorders in COPD patients by tens of percent - a chronic lung disease that causes the deaths of 3 million people a year

Walla!

health

06/12/2021

Monday, 06 December 2021, 10:26 Updated: 11:07

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In the video: Moshe Bar Siman Tov calls on the public to get vaccinated against the flu due to the serious illness (Ministry of Health)

The benefits of the flu vaccine are many.

Aside from the fact that they protect you from a potentially dangerous disease, they also take the morbidity out of the corona and even keep those who are continuously vaccinated against dementia.

And if all of these benefits do not convince you to get vaccinated, a new study now reveals a new benefit to the vaccine, which is not really related to the flu.

The first study of its kind in the world examined the possible link between influenza vaccine and heart rhythm disorders in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The researchers found that the vaccine reduced the heart rate of patients with this disease by 38 percent, and the risk in those patients who also had other background diseases by 72 percent.

More on Walla!

Is it dangerous to get a flu vaccine at the same time as a corona vaccine?

To the full article

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, was conducted by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and included 18,658 COPD patients aged 55 and over, between 2001-2012.

3 million people die from COPD every year

Prof. David Sheetrit, director of the lung system at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, notes that in Israel there are an estimated 400,000 COPD patients, of whom between 70 and 80 percent are undiagnosed.

The disease has been declared by the World Health Organization as the third leading cause of death in the world.

It is estimated that about 3 million people die from it every year in the world, and despite this it is not sufficiently known to the general public.

Most patients are smokers.

A woman puts out a cigarette

Quit smoking (Photo: ShutterStock)

According to Prof. Sheetrit, most patients are smokers or former smokers, who suffer from symptoms of shortness of breath and cough, but attribute the symptoms to smoking itself or poor physical fitness, and therefore do not come for a doctor's examination and are not diagnosed.

"This leads to a steady deterioration and high mortality rates. It is estimated that 3,000 Israelis die from the disease every year. It is very important to raise public awareness. Patients do not know that it is possible to treat, improve the condition and slow the disease with combined inhaler and lung rehabilitation."

Influenza vaccination can prevent dangerous deterioration in patients' condition

And now it turns out that the flu vaccine may also prevent deterioration. In the study, patients were divided into two groups, those who received the flu vaccine and those who did not. The researchers sought to examine abnormal health events in close proximity to the vaccine and over the years, and found that there was a significant reduction in the risk of heart rate disorders in COPD patients aged 55 to 74, during the flu season and in all other seasons. It was found that during the flu season there was a 38 percent reduction, and a 31-35 percent reduction in other seasons.

In addition, the reduction in the risk of heart rhythm disorders has also been recorded in patients with background diseases. Receiving one vaccine has reduced the risk of heart rhythm disorders in COPD patients who also suffer from hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, vascular disease and more. One dose of vaccine reduced the risk by 72 percent, two doses of vaccine reduced the risk by 73 percent, all year round. However, from the age of 75 onwards there was no significant reduction in risk, due to the proliferation of background diseases and health status.

"We found that the vaccine not only reduces the risk of developing atrial fibrillation but also the risk of cardiac arrest in patients without a history of heart disease," the researchers noted.

Decreased risk, even after flu season.

Man vaccinated against flu (Photo: ShutterStock)

Prof. Sheetrit says that "there is not enough awareness that even one exacerbation of COPD can lead to more serious results, including a rapid decrease in lung function, a twofold increase in the risk of myocardial infarction within one to five days of the exacerbation and a significant increase in mortality. Studies have shown "55 percent risk of mortality within five years after the aggravation that led to hospitalization."

He says it is very important to get to the doctor as soon as possible, get a diagnosis and start treatment.

"There are many things that can be done, of course smoking cessation, seasonal flu vaccine, pneumonia vaccine and regular treatment. Medical treatment for COPD includes the use of several different inhalers. To avoid confusion and increase patient responsiveness, a triple inhaler was recently developed, which includes three components "In one inhaler given only once a day and can be an attractive alternative for many patients."

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• Flu Vaccine

• the flu

• COPD

• Lungs

• Cardiac Arrest