Pneumonia and CVD: Small Study Suggests Link

Hospitalization for pneumonia was associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in a community-based cohort study, and it should be considered an independent risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and related events, researchers said. "The thinking has been that this increase in cardiovascular risk is probably due to acute inflammation during pneumonia and maybe some issues with medication (disruption)," Yende told MedPage Today in a telephone interview. "Beyond 90 days, and certainly when you get to a year or longer, these issues should have resolved. But we still saw an increase in risk that is comparable to established risk factors like smoking, hypertension, and diabetes." http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Prevention/49628?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-01-21&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=ST&eun=g721819d0r&userid=721819&email=amydugan2%40gmail.com&mu_id=5883165&utm_term=Daily