Flu Vaccine Associated With Lower Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke in Older Adults, Study Finds

A study to be presented at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2020 Scientific Sessions has linked a flu vaccine to a significantly reduced risk of heart attack and stroke among people older than 50, reports Becker's Hospital Review . Researchers analyzed more than 7 million people hospitalized, of whom only 168,325 received the flu vaccine in 2014. Compared to those who were not vaccinated, adults 50 and older who had received the flu vaccine had a 28 percent lower risk of heart attack, a 73 percent lower risk of death, a 47 percent lower risk of stroke, and an 85 percent lower risk of cardiac arrest. "The results we found are staggering," said Roshni A. Mandania at Texas Tech University's Foster School of Medicine. "It's hard to ignore the positive effect the flu vaccine can have on serious cardiac complications."