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Flu Shot May Reduce Risk of Stroke

By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 20, 2007

Seasonal Flu • Cancer Patients Skipping Flu and Pneumonia Shots • Flu Shot May Reduce Risk of Stroke • Many At Risk For Flu Don't Get Shots • Researchers Find New Weapon Against Flu Virus • CDC: Plenty of Flu Vaccine This Year • Study Questions Benefits Of Flu Shots For Seniors • Expanded Flu Shot Recommendations for Children • FDA Cautions Consumers On Bogus Flu Products • CDC Revises Flu Treatment Guidelines

Could getting a flu shot help reduce your risk of having a stroke? It may sound like a strange idea, but don't rule it out.

Researchers have found that flu shots can help prevent heart attacks. Apparently, reducing the risk of getting the influenza virus reduces the risk of its causing inflammation in your heart's arteries and causing a heart attack.

So could the same thing be true of strokes? Well, maybe, according to an article published in the journal Stroke.

Researchers looked at 90 survivors of strokes over the age of 60 and compared it with a control group. Fifty-six percent of the control group had gotten a flu shot within five years compared to only 40 percent of the stroke group.

In other words, getting a flu shot cut the risk of stroke in this group, aged 60 to 75, by nearly 60 percent.

While we don't have data on folks over 75, it might be a good idea to get a flu shot.

Obviously, the question requires more research. But if you get a flu shot, you may reduce your risk of a stroke or heart attack.

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