Fill in the gaps: Don’t let flu break your patient’s heart

The International Federation on Ageing highlights importance of flu awareness to at-risk groups

Toronto, Ontario – September 29, 2019:

Today, on World Heart Day, the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) calls on all health care professionals to encourage older people and most importantly those with cardiovascular disease in their care to be vaccinated against the serious and life-altering infectious diseases of influenza and pneumonia.

Each year, influenza is estimated to attack 5–10% of adults and 20–30% of children[1], resulting in 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and about 290,000 to 650,000 respiratory deaths worldwide[2].

Everyone faces threats from influenza but older people and adults with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are more at risk than others (including the risk of complications, hospitalizations and even death due to influenza) because of their weakened immunity.  For those with cardiovascular disease, respiratory infection (frequently caused by influenza viruses) is estimated to increases the chances of having a heart attack by six-fold within a week of onset[3], and trigger 50% of heart failure exacerbations[4].

While the influenza vaccine is a recommended action in many countries, rates of vaccination for those most vulnerable are at an all-time low with grandparents, older workers, friends and family suffering diminished function and in many cases death.  Public health messages and conversations with a health care professional that translate into action are in urgent need.

To gain a deeper understanding of the gaps and potential areas for improvement in public health messages on adult vaccination for healthy older people and vulnerable populations such as those with heart disease, the IFA is studying campaign material materials from government and patient and advocacy associations in ten countries.

Preliminary findings suggest that the national influenza awareness campaign is resource-rich in the United States and the United Kingdom with vulnerable people being targeted in communications about the seriousness of influenza and the protective effect of vaccines.  In Canada and Australia, the messages intended for most at-risk populations are relatively sparse.

In Asian countries, like China and Japan, the gap is much more apparent since patient organizations and ageing associations either fail or inadequately communicate to their constitutes the importance of influenza prevention to healthy ageing, therefore education materials and resources are very limited.

The IFA argues that current awareness campaigns on influenza vaccination should pay more attention to the most at-risk people, to avoid leaving anyone uninformed.

For enquiries concerning the environmental scan conducted by the IFA, please contact Yifan Zheng at yzheng@ifa-fiv.org

About the International Federation on Ageing: IFA is an international, non-governmental organization (NGO) with a unique membership base comprising government, NGOs, academics, industry, and individuals in over 70 countries.  Now over 45 years old, the IFA is a leading and innovative organization that works across disciplines and sectors toward common goals that improve the lives of older people.  Through the IFA’s formal relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and general consultative status at the United Nations and its agencies, the IFA is in the position to advocate directly with member states and contribute to and inform the intergovernmental dialogue.

[1] “WHO | Influenza Position Paper,” WHO, accessed September 27, 2019, http://www.who.int/immunization/policy/position_papers/influenza/en/.

[2] “Influenza (Seasonal),” accessed September 27, 2019, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-(seasonal).

[3] Jeffrey C. Kwong et al., “Acute Myocardial Infarction after Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Infection,” New England Journal of Medicine 378, no. 4 (January 25, 2018): 345–53, https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1702090.

[4] Ankeet S. Bhatt et al., “Can Vaccinations Improve Heart Failure Outcomes?: Contemporary Data and Future Directions,” JACC: Heart Failure 5, no. 3 (February 27, 2017): 194–203, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchf.2016.12.007.