Influenza as a trigger for cardiovascular disease: An investigation of serotype, subtype and geographic location

Abstract

Background Seasonal peaks of influenza and cardiovascular disease tend to coincide. Many excess deaths may be triggered by influenza, and the severity of this effect may vary with the virulence of the circulating influenza strain and host susceptibility. We aimed to explore the association between hospital admissions for influenza and/or pneumonia (IP) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in Queensland, Australia, taking into account temporal and spatial variation of influenza virus type and subtype in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Methods This ecological study at Statistical Subdivision level (SSD, n=38) used linked patient-level data. For each study year, Standardi..