Flu Vaccination Is Associated with Lower Risk for Adverse Cardiovascular Events

Many observational, epidemiological, and small randomized trials suggest an inverse relation between influenza vaccination and adverse cardiovascular events. Researchers identified five higher-quality published randomized controlled trials and one unpublished trial (total, 6700 participants; mean age, 67) to assess this association.

During 1 year of follow-up, risk for major adverse cardiovascular events was significantly lower in participants who received influenza vaccinations (intramuscular or intranasal) than in those who did not (2.9% vs. 4.7%); 58 patients would need to be vaccinated to prevent 1 event. Among a subgroup of patients with recent acute coronary syndromes, risk was 10% in vaccine recipients and 23% in unvaccinated particip…