Heart attack risk goes up after common illness

The risk of heart attack increases sharply after a respiratory infection, a new study finds.

But the absolute risk that any one episode will cause a heart attack is low, the Australian researchers added.

The researchers looked at 578 people who suffered a heart attack and found that 17 percent had experienced symptoms of respiratory infection within seven days before the heart attack, and 21 percent within the prior month.

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The risk of a heart attack is 17 times higher in the week after a respiratory infection, the University of Sydney team concluded.

In a second analysis, the researchers focused on upper-respiratory tract infections, such as the common cold, sore throat, hay fever and sinus infections.

"For those participants who reported milder upper-respiratory tract infection symptoms, the risk increase was less, but was still elevated by 13-fold," study author Lorcan Ruane said in a university news release.

"Although upper-respiratory infections are less severe, they are far more common than lower-respiratory tract symptoms. Therefore, it is important to understand their relationship to the risk of heart attacks," he explained.

The study was published May 15 in the Internal Medicine Journal.

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According to study senior author Dr. Geoffrey Tofler, "Possible reasons for why respiratory infection may trigger a heart attack include an increased tendency towards blood clotting, inflammation and toxins damaging blood vessels, and changes in blood flow." Tofler is a cardiologist from the University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital and Heart Research Australia.

"Our message to people is while the absolute risk that any one episode will trigger a heart attack is low, they need to be aware that a respiratory infection could lead to a coronary event. So consider preventative strategies [such as flu and pneumonia vaccines] where possible, and don't ignore symptoms that could indicate a heart attack," he advised.

"The next step is to identify treatment strategies to decrease this risk of heart attack, particularly in individuals who may have increased susceptibility," Tofler concluded.

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