FLU INCREASES CARDIAC RISK, STUDY FINDS

ONTARIO

TORONTO Having t he flu significantly raises the risk of heart attack, especially among those 65 and older, an Ontario study suggests.

“What we found is that you’re six times more likely to have a heart attack during the week after being diagnosed with influenza, compared with a year before or a year after the infection,” said Dr. Jeff Kwong, lead author of the study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“What we were also surprised about is that we found that there was an increased risk with other respiratory viruses as well,” said Kwong.