Getting an Annual Flu Vaccine shot may help to lower the risk of Stroke, according to researchers.

A study published in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology says that getting your annual flu vaccine could lower the risk of stroke in people. Researchers have stated that the annual flu vaccine could lower the risk of stroke, however, it still remains a mystery whether the jab could prevent stroke altogether.

“Studies have shown that getting the flu increases your risk of having a stroke, but research is still being collected on whether getting the flu vaccine can help protect against a stroke,” said study author Francisco J. de Abajo, MD, MPH, PhD, of the University of Alcala in Madrid, Spain.

“This observational study suggests that those who have a flu shot have a lower risk of stroke. To determine whether this is due to a protective effect of the vaccine itself or to other factors, more research is needed.”

How the study worked?

The study looked at ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain and is the most common type of stroke.

For the study, researchers looked at a health care database in Spain and identified people who were at least 40 years old and had a first stroke over a 14-year period. Each person who had a stroke was compared to five people of the same age and sex. There were 14,322 people who had a stroke and 71,610 people who did not have a stroke.

Then the researchers looked at whether people had received the influenza vaccine at least 14 days before the stroke or before that same date for those who did not have a stroke.

A total of 41.4% of those who had a stroke had received the flu shot, compared to 40.5% of those who did not have a stroke. But the people who got the shot were more likely to be older and to have other conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol that would make them more likely to have a stroke. Once researchers adjusted for those factors, they found that those who received a flu shot were 12% less likely to have a stroke than those who did not.

The researchers also looked at whether the pneumonia vaccine had any effect on the risk of stroke and found no protective effect.

Researcher speak

“These results are yet another reason for people to get their yearly flu shot, especially if they are at an increased risk of stroke,” de Abajo said. “To be able to reduce your risk of stroke by taking such a simple action is very compelling.”

Since the study was observational, it does not prove that getting the flu shot reduces the risk of stroke. It only shows an association. There could be other factors that were not measured that could affect the risk of stroke.

Incidences of heart attack

The study comes at a time, when several tragic deaths have been reported in India. From noted Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, also known as KK, to investor and billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, suffered heart attack and passed away.

Further a news anchor from Oklahoma experienced the “beginning of a stroke” while reporting news on live TV. Anchor Julie Chin, who works for NBC affiliate KJRH was reading the news of the attempted launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 rocket when she began to stumble over her words.

Another incidence of heart attack happened in Jammu, where a performer was recorded collapsing in the middle of their performance, later confirmed to have died of heart attack.

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