Especially if you’re one of the 48% of Americans with cardiovascular disease, you likely have a heart health checklist you try to abide by. You aim to get that 150 minutes of heart-pumping exercise a week, save red meat for special occasions and minimize your alcohol consumption.
Habits like these go a long way when it comes to protecting your heart, but staying proactive in other ways is important too. For example, getting your blood pressure checked either annually or biennially can help protect against potential life-threatening heart crises before they happen, like a stroke, heart attack or heart failure. High blood pressure is often referred to as a “silent killer” because it has no symptoms and people with high blood pressure often feel completely fine until a major heart event occurs.
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Getting your cholesterol measured every four to six years is another important proactive measure that can protect your heart. Healthy adults should get checked at least every four to six years starting at age 20, and more often if you’re over 40 or have risk factors like a family history of heart disease. That way, you and your doctor can catch plaque buildup early before it becomes dangerous.
There’s one other key way to support your heart that cardiologists wish everyone 50 and older would prioritize. You only have to do it once a year, but it’s greatly beneficial.
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The One Shot Cardiologists Wish Everyone 50 and Older Would Get to Protect Their Heart
Have you gotten your flu shot yet? It’s something cardiologists wish everyone would do, especially people who are 50 and older. “Most people think of influenza as a respiratory illness, but it can also create significant stress on the cardiovascular system,” says Dr. Greg Mishkel, MD, a cardiologist with Endeavor Health.
Dr. Mishkel explains that the flu causes the body to produce an inflammatory response to fight the infection. This same inflammation, he says, can make cholesterol plaques in the coronary arteries less stable, which increases the risk of a heart attack.
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“By preventing influenza, or reducing the severity of the illness, vaccination can help lower the risk of these complications. We’ve seen convincing evidence of fewer major cardiovascular events among vaccinated patients, particularly those with established heart disease,” Dr. Mishkel says.
Dr. Alex Gyftopoulos, MD, a cardiologist with the University of Maryland Medical System, says that getting the flu vaccine lowers the risk for heart attacks and strokes for the very reasons Dr. Mishkel explained. He says that getting the flu makes it six times more likely to have a heart attack.
“The flu does far more than make you feel miserable for a week,” Dr. Arash Bereliani, MD, FACC, a preventive cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai and the medical director of the Beverly Hills Institute of Cardiology, says, adding to this. “A fever, dehydration and low oxygen also force the heart to work harder at the exact moment it has less to work with. Put those together, and you have the perfect setup for a heart attack or stroke.”
Dr. Bereliani emphasizes that the flu vaccine lowers this risk by preventing the infection or making it much milder, which minimizes the inflammatory response. “Research shows that even when vaccinated people do catch the flu, their risk of heart attack or stroke is roughly half that of unvaccinated people, which tells us the protection runs deeper than simply avoiding a case of the flu,” he says.
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Why It’s Especially Important for People 50 and Older to Get the Flu Vaccine
While everyone can benefit from getting the flu vaccine, all three cardiologists say that it’s especially important for people 50 and older or with heart disease. Dr. Bereliani explains that people 50 and older typically have at least some plaque in their arteries, which means that there’s more to destabilize when inflammation hits. On top of that, he points out that the immune system weakens with age, which means getting the flu tends to lead to more severe symptoms and lasts longer.
“As we age, our risk for heart disease and stroke increases. Getting the flu vaccine is an important part of reducing the risk of these negative outcomes. Individuals who have a history of heart disease or stroke are particularly at risk,” Dr. Gyftopoulos adds.
He says that the flu vaccination has also been shown to decrease the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and chest pain, and that this protective effect is even stronger in people with a history of heart disease.
Does the COVID Vaccine Support Heart Health?
It’s been several years since the pandemic, but all three cardiologists say that it’s still important to get the COVID vaccine once a year. “COVID, like the flu, can affect much more than the lungs. It can produce significant inflammation, increase the risk of blood clots and contribute to heart attacks, heart failure and other cardiovascular complications,” Dr. Mishkel says.
He emphasizes that getting the COVID vaccine reduces the risk of severe COVID illness, and emerging evidence suggests it may also reduce associated cardiovascular complications. Dr. Bereliani says this too, explaining that COVID raises the risk of heart attack, stroke and blood clots through the same inflammatory pathway as the flu, and in some people that elevated risk lingers for months.
“A large study published in JAMA Internal Medicine this year followed more than a million U.S. veterans and found that people who received the updated COVID vaccine had about a 38% lower risk of COVID-related major cardiovascular events over eight months. The protection was strongest in people 75 and older and in those with other health conditions,” Dr. Bereliani says.
He added that the same study found a drop in all cardiovascular events, not just the ones tied to a confirmed COVID diagnosis. “The likely explanation is that plenty of infections go undetected, and the vaccine is quietly preventing heart complications from those too,” he says.
If you don’t want to get the COVID vaccine, Dr. Mishkel says to talk to your doctor about alternatives. For example, he says that Novavax’s Nuvaxovid is a protein-based COVID vaccine, rather than an mRNA vaccine, and can offer the same protection.
The cardiologists also emphasize that getting the flu and COVID vaccines doesn’t just protect your health; they protect the health of everyone you interact with too.
“As a cardiologist, I think about prevention not only in terms of what we can prescribe, but also the decisions people make every day that protect their own health and the health of those around them,” Dr. Mishkel says. Getting the flu shot is one important decision that will protect your heart all year long.
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Sources
Cardiovascular diseases affect nearly half of Americans, statistics show. American Heart Association. American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids. American Heart Association. Dr. Greg Mishkel, MD, cardiologist with Endeavor Health. Dr. Alex Gyftopoulos, MD, cardiologist with the University of Maryland Medical System. Studies Suggest Influenza Virus Infection Raises the Risk of Heart Attack. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Arash Bereliani, MD, FACC, preventive cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai and the medical director of the Beverly Hills Institute of Cardiology. Benefits of Flu Vaccination. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chai, M., Xie, Yan and Al-Aly, Z. (2026). 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccine and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events Among US Veterans. JAMA Internal Medicine. 186(8):988-999.Hence then, the article about cardiologists are begging people over 50 to get this shot to protect their heart was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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