Heart failure patients who are vaccinated for the flu might be less likely to die prematurely than those who don't get a flu shot, a study published in Circulation found.
The researchers tracked over 134,000 heart failure patients between 2003 and 2015. Half the patients stayed in the study for at least 3.7 years. The researchers found receiving at least one flu shot was linked to an 18 percent lower risk of premature death from all causes and from cardiovascular problems specifically.
"We also found that annual vaccination frequency and vaccination early in the season were associated with greater reductions in the risk of death," lead study author Daniel Modin told Reuters. "We already knew that influenza vaccination benefits the population as a whole, but our study adds support to the importance of influenza vaccination in patients with heart failure, and it also suggests that annual and consistent vaccination is important in this patient group."