I opened the door and in flu enza

TGIF ladies and gents'.

First things first:

You can WIN!

I’m running a little raffle all next week, and you could win one of several pieces of jewelry from Micah Marie Jewelry! This is a great charity out of Billings. Micah Marie is a Type 1 diabetes sufferer who collects insulin pump caps and makes beautiful, hand-crafted jewelry out of them. 5% of the purchase goes to one of three diabetes organizations! Check back next week for a blog about cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Check out their website this week and see what you can win!

What do you have to do?

All you have to do is e-mail me at slachapelle@richland.org or comment on the blog between Sunday, February 20 and Saturday, February 26 and tell me how you are committing to prevent heart disease in your life. You can commit to eating less salt, watching your cholesterol, exercising more often, or whatever you are willing to commit to! Anyone who commits will be entered to win one of five pieces of Micah Marie jewelry!

Second...here is your tip for the day.

I thought I’d start your day with a little science humor (re: title)- I saw the title line in one of my microbiology lab books in college and thought it was pretty witty…but that’s science humor for you!

Today’s focus is on the importance of getting your flu shot if you have or are at risk for cardiovascular diseases. Remember that cardiovascular disease is a silent killer, so you probably don’t even know you have one of them until it’s too late, so your best bet is to get the arm stick before things get too complicated.

The CDC estimates that the flu causes more than 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations in the US alone, and the number of flu related complications are higher among people with cardiovascular disease.

Why? Bear with me while I get science-y on you.

The real reason why the flu may cause cardiovascular events isn’t really clear (get used to this- it happens in science all the time). One pretty good guess is that your immune system goes CRAZY when you are first infected with the flu virus. Your immune system starts to produce all of these substances to fight the infection. These substances may also cause the plaque building in your arteries to build up faster, causing complications. Another pretty good guess is that the flu virus affects your blood vessels, causing cardiovascular complications. Remember that the arteries in your heart feed right into your lungs, where the flu virus main effects, so it’s no surprise that the flu may cause heart and vessel problems.

If you’re a science buff, check out the real report from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 

So what are all of these complications?

Nobody ever feels good when they’ve got the flu (I know this from my swine flu experience in 2009), but if you’ve got a cardiovascular condition you’ll be feeling really bad. You might experience pneumonia, respiratory failure, dehydration, heart attack, worsening of pre-existing conditions like heart failure or diabetes, or you could actually die from it. It’s kind of a big deal, right?

So what are you going to do about it? You’re going to have to subject yourself to the arm stick, because the nasal spray, FluMist, isn’t recommended for people with cardiovascular diseases. Here are some tips for avoiding the flu.

• Get a flu shot! Either make an appointment with your provider to get a flu shot, or visit the Health Department during clinic hours, which are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 12 to 430; every 2^nd Wednesday from 12 to 6, and every 3^rd Thursday from 1 to 4. Make sure that you tell the doctor or nurse that you have or are at risk for developing a cardiovascular disease and they can decide which type of vaccine to give you.
• Avoid people who are sick, or if you are sick, avoid healthy people.
•  Use a tissue and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! Your mom was right, it spreads germs!
• Wash. Your. Hands.

It’s really that simple. 

From my heart to yours,
Red