Why all heart patients should be vaccinated against the flu, COVID-19, RSV
Adults with heart disease should be vaccinated to be protect themselves against the flu, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other high-risk illnesses, according to new clinical recommendations from the American College of Cardiology (ACC).
Anyone with a history of heart disease face an increased risk of infection when exposed to a respiratory illness such as the flu, COVID-19 or RSV. Being vaccinated against these diseases helps protect a person’s cardiovascular health in the face of these heightened risks.
“Vaccination against communicable respiratory diseases and other serious diseases is critical for people with heart disease, but barriers exist to ensuring people are educated on which vaccines to get, how often to get them and why they are important,” Paul Heidenreich, MD, chair of the writing committee, said in a statement. “With this document, we want to encourage clinicians to have these conversations and help their patients manage vaccination as part of a standard prevention and treatment plan.”
The full ACC guidance is available in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.[1] Specific recommendations are provided for a variety of vaccines. When it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine—a source of significant controversy over the years—the group emphasized that all adults with heart disease were urged to receive a seasonal vaccine for the 2024-25 season. Benefits of seasonal COVID-19 vaccines include reduced risks of infection, severe infection, death, heart attack, COVID-related pericarditis or myocarditis, COVID-related stroke or atrial fibrillation and other symptoms associated with long COVID.
Meanwhile, the group recommended that all adults 75 years or older—as well as adults between the ages of 50 and 74 with a history of heart disease—should be vaccinated against RSV. A single dose—not an annual vaccination—should provide sufficient long-term protection.
Other vaccines recommended for heart patients include those designed for pneumococcal disease and shingles.
Addressing ‘vaccine hesitancy’ among heart patients
The ACC guidance examines what clinicians can do to ease the concerns of patients who are hesitant to be vaccinated.
“Factors affecting vaccine hesitancy are complex and influenced by a variety of elements, including socioeconomic challenges, societal norms, historical context, and prior vaccine experience,” according to the document. “Lower socioeconomic status is associated with higher rates of vaccine hesitancy. Lack of access to accurate information and the spread of misinformation regarding vaccine safety, efficacy and necessity can also increase hesitancy. Social networks, opinions of family and friends and social norms within individual communities can significantly influence vaccine acceptance, especially when coupled with distrust of the healthcare system. Prior negative experiences with vaccines, such as adverse effects or illness despite, or close to receipt of, a vaccine-preventable disease, can erode trust in vaccinations.”
Patient education, the group explained, is critical when trying to reach these individuals. They recommended highlighting the benefits of vaccination to a person’s own health as well as the benefits to their families and society as a whole. Another key takeaway is that it can help to discuss the potential side effects of being vaccinated and emphasize that vaccines do not “cause the illness they are meant to prevent.”
“Patients may inappropriately ascribe vaccine side effects such as body aches and low-grade fever to infection rather than the body’s natural immune response to vaccination,” according to the document.
Click here to read the full document.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.