Suffer from a heart or lung condition? Get your flu jab!

If you suffer with a heart or lung condition you are highly likely to be eligible for a free flu jab.

Flu, on top of health conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, emphysema or heart disease, increases chances of serious health complications and a hospital visit. This is even the case even if conditions are mild, managed or symptoms are controlled.

People in a clinical risk group, such as those with a heart or lung condition, are four to five times more likely to be admitted to hospital with the flu.

Last winter alone, nearly 10,000 people were hospitalised because of flu in the UK, and there were an estimated 15,969 deaths. It is estimated that around 2,500 were people with a heart condition, and 3,500 with a respiratory condition.

There are 5.4 million people with asthma in the UK. Asthma affects one in every 11 people and one in five households, with asthma attacks hospitalising someone every eight minutes.

115,000 people in the UK people are diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease each year, equivalent to a new diagnosis every five minutes.

People living with heart disease are at a much higher risk of becoming severely ill if they catch flu. In fact, people with chronic heart disease are approximately 11 times more likely to die if they develop flu compared to healthy individuals.

In recent years, research has shown that flu vaccines have reduced the risk of flu-associated hospitalisations among adults by about 40%.

It takes up to two weeks for you to be protected by the vaccine, so get the jab as soon as possible to not only help keep yourself well this winter, but your friends and family too.

Speak to your GP or local pharmacy to discuss/arrange your free jab as soon as possible.

The flu jab really is the safest way to protect yourself - it’s free because you need it!

Flu facts

General

• Flu is serious and is different to the common cold. Symptoms include a high temperature, body aches and fatigue.
• Flu kills an average of 8,000 people every year.
• Last winter 9,996 people were hospitalised because of flu in a network of 25 trusts in England
• 3,175 people were admitted to intensive care unit/ a high dependency unit as a result of flu in 2017/18 across the UK during the flu season, of whom 320 died.
• There were an estimated 15,969 deaths from flu in 2017/18. This is a 9% decrease in flu related deaths between 2016/17 and 2017/18.
• If you have an underlying heart or lung condition including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; bronchitis, emphysema, flu can easily develop into something very serious and may result in you having to go to hospital.
• In recent years, research has shown that flu vaccines have reduced the risk of flu-associated hospitalisations among adults by about 40%.
• Research evidence shows vaccination among adults reduced the risk of being admitted to an intensive care unit with flu by 82%.

Asthma

• Asthma attacks hospitalise someone every eight minutes in the UK.
• 81% of people in the UK with asthma say their symptoms get worse when they have a cold or flu, putting them at risk of a potentially life threatening asthma attack.
• 185 people are admitted to hospital because of asthma attacks every day in the UK.
• In 2015 (the most recent data available) 1,468 people died from asthma
• There are 5.4 million people with asthma in the UK - asthma affects one in every 11 people and one in five households.
• Every 10 seconds someone is having a potentially life-threatening asthma attack in the UK.
• Every day, the lives of three families are devastated by the death of a loved one to an asthma attack, and tragically two thirds of these deaths are preventable.
• Research shows that people admitted to hospital in a clinical risk group with the flu are six times more likely to suffer serious complications than those not in a clinical risk group.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

• An estimated 1.2 million people are living with diagnosed COPD in the UK.
• In the UK 4.5% of all people aged over 40 live with diagnosed COPD
• 115,000 people in the UK people are diagnosed with COPD each year, equivalent to a new diagnosis every five minutes.
• COPD kills 30,000 people a year in the UK, just 5,000 less than the UK's biggest cancer killer, lung cancer.
• Figures show that people living with a COPD diagnosis are mostly over the age of 40, with the chances of developing the condition increasing as people got older.

Lung Disease

• Approximately one in five people in the UK have developed asthma, COPD or another long-term respiratory illness. Half of them are currently on treatment (mainly inhalers) for lung disease.
• About 10,000 people in the UK are newly diagnosed with a lung disease every week.
• Somebody dies from lung disease in the UK every five minutes.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

• There are around seven million people living with CVD in the UK.
• In the UK there are nearly 200,000 hospital visits each year due to heart attacks: that's one every three minutes.
• People living with heart disease are at a much higher risk of becoming severely ill if they catch flu. In fact, people with chronic heart disease are approximately 11 times more likely to die if they develop flu compared to healthy individuals.
• Over half a million people in the UK have been diagnosed with heart failure.
• It’s estimated that around 620,000 people in the UK have a faulty gene which puts them at an unusually high risk of developing heart disease or dying suddenly at a young age.