4 ms·
TL;DR: Based on autopsy studies about one third of people who die from flu-related causes expire because the virus overwhelms the immune system; another third
by simonswords82 9y ago
TL;DR:
Based on autopsy studies about one third of people who die from flu-related causes expire because the virus overwhelms the immune system; another third die from the immune response to secondary bacterial infections, usually in the lungs; and the remaining third perish due to the failure of one or more other organs.
- justboxing 9y agoThanks for the TL;DR. I always wondered about this phenomena - People dying from flu.
- nkrumm 9y ago> and the remaining third perish due to the failure of one or more other organs. One of these organs is the heart-- the seasonal variation in influenza actually overlaps with an increase in acute myocardial infarction (AMI, or a 'heart attack'). Recent meta analysis has shown an odds ratio of ~2 for AMI in the setting of influenza. Mechanistically, there is a suspected link between the virus and inflammatory changes in the blood vessels supplying the heart that destabilizes existing atherosclerotic plaques. More here: http://heart.bmj.com/content/101/21/1738 http://heart.bmj.com/content/101/21/1738 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1473309909702336 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1473309909... Edit: The article mentions (viral) myocarditis as a sequelao f the flu-- this can also happen, but is separate from AMI