Flu vaccine's role in cardiomyopathy
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 3:48 pm
I subscribe to Dr. Chauncey Crandall's Heart Health Report. A cardiologist who's himself experienced a heart attack while relatively young, Dr. Crandall is no pill-pusher but rather an advocate of lifestyle changes to promote better heart health.
This month's issue said something surprising, however, even for him. Crandall writes about a patient of his, a 72 y/o physician who was in good health, mentally and physically, until he suddenly came down with viral cardiomyopathy, causing his heart's ejection factor to shrink to 25%.
After treatment, the patient's ejection factor rose to 55% and he was again living his normal life. Until he got a flu shot -- and ended up in the hospital with congestive heart failure once more. After treatment, fine. But the next year, the same thing happened.
Crandall looked into the flu vaccine literature, decided the vaccination wasn't terribly effective, particularly in the elderly, and began to observe more closely those patients who'd taken the vaccine. He noticed (surprise!) that some "experienced side effects, including flu-like symptoms."
He then writes: "I now strongly suspect that it was the vaccine, not the flu, that caused [my patient's] later bouts with heart failure."
Could the vaccine also have been responsible for the original cardiomyopathy? Not a question Crandall attempts to answer; but he no longer recommends flu shots to his patients, instead telling them to follow common-sense tips to avoid the flu.
Nice to see some common sense in the conventional medicine world.
Peace,
Dale
This month's issue said something surprising, however, even for him. Crandall writes about a patient of his, a 72 y/o physician who was in good health, mentally and physically, until he suddenly came down with viral cardiomyopathy, causing his heart's ejection factor to shrink to 25%.
After treatment, the patient's ejection factor rose to 55% and he was again living his normal life. Until he got a flu shot -- and ended up in the hospital with congestive heart failure once more. After treatment, fine. But the next year, the same thing happened.
Crandall looked into the flu vaccine literature, decided the vaccination wasn't terribly effective, particularly in the elderly, and began to observe more closely those patients who'd taken the vaccine. He noticed (surprise!) that some "experienced side effects, including flu-like symptoms."
He then writes: "I now strongly suspect that it was the vaccine, not the flu, that caused [my patient's] later bouts with heart failure."
Could the vaccine also have been responsible for the original cardiomyopathy? Not a question Crandall attempts to answer; but he no longer recommends flu shots to his patients, instead telling them to follow common-sense tips to avoid the flu.
Nice to see some common sense in the conventional medicine world.
Peace,
Dale