Download don`t mix! - Oakengates Medical Practice

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FLU &
don’t mix!
Information for people with
chronic heart disease
Scan the QR
code above with your
smartphone to access
www.flu-protect.co.uk
FLU & HEART DISEASE
WHAT IS FLU?
Flu (influenza) is a very common illness that is highly infectious and
spread by the coughs and sneezes of people who have it. You can also
pick up flu by touching something like a door handle if someone who
has flu has touched it before you. Although many people think flu
is just a heavy cold, if you catch flu, you’re likely to feel much worse.
You could feel terrible – shivery, achy and even too weak to get out
of bed. Flu can give you a headache, high temperature, dry cough,
sore throat, runny nose and can make you feel ill for many weeks.
Many people feel unable to work or carry on as normal if they have
flu. Some people with flu develop very serious complications, even if
they’ve been fit and well before it.1
HOW SERIOUS IS FLU FOR PEOPLE WITH chronic heart disease?
During the last flu season, people with heart disease were ten times
more likely to die from flu than people without it.2 When you have
heart disease your heart is unable to pump blood around the body
as well as it should. This makes it more difficult to eliminate waste
products properly leading to a build up of fluid in your lungs and other
parts of your body.3
More fluid in your lungs makes it harder to clear the flu virus and
fight the disease as effectively as people without heart disease. This
can make you more likely to develop other dangerous infections such
as pneumonia.4 Getting flu has also been linked to an increased risk of
having a heart attack.5
HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST FLU?
You can be protected from flu by having a simple vaccination against
it. This gives good protection and lasts for about one year. Because the
strains (types) of flu change every year, a new flu vaccine is produced
each year to protect you against the different flu strains that the
World Health Organization expect to be most common each winter.
WHO CAN HAVE THE FLU VACCINATION?
Anyone can have the flu vaccine, but as you have chronic heart
disease it is especially recommended by the Department of Health
and is free for you. You should be vaccinated against flu every winter
to make sure that you are protected against the latest strains of flu.
To find out more about flu or to
book your flu vaccination
ask in your surgery today!
References
1. Department of Health (Green Book) 2006. Immunisation against infectious disease, Chapter 19: Influenza, updated May 2011. Accessed June 2011.
2. Department of Health. Chief Medical Officer Letter, May 2011. Gateway reference
Number: 16066. Accessed June 2011.
3. http://www.heartfailurematters.org/English_Lang/UnderstandingHeartFailure/
Pages/Whatisheartfailure.aspx Accessed June 2011
4. Musher DM. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and Practice of
Infectious Diseases, 4th Edition Churchill Livingstone; 1994 p1811-1826
5. Corrales-Medina VF, Madjid M, Musher DM. Role of acute infection in triggering
acute coronary syndromes. Lancet Infect Dis 2010; 10: 83-92.
Provided by Sanofi Pasteur MSD
UK15113 07/11