| ▲ | awesome_dude 3 days ago | |
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/what-does-the-fl... How does flu affect the heart? The virus only rarely infects the heart directly. Instead, the adverse effects of the virus on the heart are due to atherosclerosis of the arteries of the heart. Many people over age 50 have atherosclerosis — and in some people it has not yet been diagnosed. Because atherosclerosis narrows the arteries and reduces the flow of blood, less oxygen reaches the heart muscle. When the effect of the flu on the lungs lowers the amount of oxygen in the blood, this further reduces the supply of oxygen to the heart. This can lead to a heart attack or cardiac arrest (sudden death). Is this risk more than theoretical? Many careful studies have shown there is an increased risk of heart disease following a bout of flu. In one study of 80,000 adults with influenza, nearly 12% had a serious cardiac event, such as a heart attack, during or in the weeks after getting the flu. | ||
| ▲ | smt88 3 days ago | parent | next [-] | |
> How does flu affect the heart? Even temporary stress on the respiratory system can cause long-term damage to the brain, lungs, and heart. Because of Covid, we started to learn that an acute, severe infection can affect people much later. That research led to the beginning of an understanding that repeated flu infections can contribute to premature death even many decades later. | ||
| ▲ | y1n0 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | |
In the context of the article, it's inflammation rupturing the 'fibrous cap' on plaque deposits leading to a heart attack, so I presume OP is talking about the inflammatory response to having the flu. | ||
| ▲ | weird-eye-issue 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | |
> In one study of 80,000 adults with influenza, nearly 12% had a serious cardiac event, such as a heart attack, during or in the weeks after getting the flu. That sounds really high Okay I just looked it up and this was only among hospitalized individuals which makes a lot more sense because most people just stay home unless it's very bad but that is still surprising to me | ||
| ▲ | op00to 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] | |
For sure it exacerbated an existing cardiovascular system. Once the system is weakened things cause big problems quickly. | ||