Should people with heart disease be particularly concerned about H1N1 influenza (also called swine flu)? And what precautions should they take to avoid problems with H1N1?
Influenza (flu) is caused by a viral infection that produces a host of very nasty symptoms — fever, muscle aches and pains, weakness, headache, watery eyes, sore throat, runny nose, and cough. While most of these symptoms are seen with many other viral infections, they tend to be worse much when you have actual influenza. So people with flu tend to be “sicker” than people with most other respiratory viral infections. In fact, the respiratory (lung) complications of flu lead to many of the 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths caused each year in the United States by influenza viruses.
People with heart disease have a harder time with the flu than people without heart disease. This is because the flu produces significant stress on the cardiovascular system — breathing difficulty, changes in blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and even direct effects on the heart — that make this illness particularly difficult, and even dangerous, for someone who has heart disease.
What Precautions Should You Take for H1N1?
At this point, there is still no evidence that the H1N1 flu is is strikingly more dangerous than the “garden variety” flus that we see every year. But if you have heart disease, the garden variety flu is bad enough. Worse, because H1N1 is a very new strain of influenza, your chances of getting quite sick if you are exposed to it are probably higher than with normal influenza. So you should take at least the same precautions you ought to take during any flu season.
One precaution you should take every year, of course, is to get your flu shot. Influenza vaccines reduce the risk of dying if you have heart disease, and there is every reason to believe that the H1N1 flu shot will also reduce the risk of death. If you have heart disease, you should get the H1N1 flu shot as soon as it is available to you. (This means that this year you should get two flu shots – one for H1N1, and one “regular” flu shot for the “normal” flu.)
- Read more about flu shots improving survival in people with heart disease.
In addition to getting the flu shot, you should take the typical precautions to avoid flu. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, or a hand sanitizer. And try to avoid contact with people who appear actively sick.
If the H1N1 flu comes to your area in a big way, you might want to somewhat restrict your activities outside of the home, specifically, avoid large crowds when practical.
Wearing a face mask to avoid the flu is a bit controversial. The practice of wearing face masks at the moment is being actively discouraged in the United States, with experts citing the fact that very little scientific evidence supports their effectiveness in preventing influenza. While this is true, this author finds it noteworthy that healthcare workers in flu-affected areas are certainly wearing them, and wonders whether the public disparaging of face masks may be part of the overall (albeit laudable) strategy to control panic. In any case, if you decide to wear a face mask, make sure it covers both your nose and your mouth, and that it creates as tight a seal all the way around as possible.
If You Get Sick
If you develop symptoms suggestive of the flu, call your doctor immediately, even before you try any over-the-counter remedies (which may contain decongestants that people with heart disease should avoid). Remind your doctor that you have heart disease, and that if you have the flu you may benefit from one of the antiviral drugs like Tamiflu, which can reduce the severity of illness.
During your illness, you should also call your doctor if you develop difficulty in breathing, failure to improve after three or four days, or if you suddenly develop worsening symptoms (especially after beginning to recover).
All these precautions, of course, apply to any influenza, not just the H1N1 flu.
