CONCLUSIONS
The present study results indicate that recent influenza and other acute
respiratory illnesses may commonly occur prior to onset of AMI among
Bangladeshi patients. Additionally, the study has generated some data
regarding the relationship between recent respiratory illness and
influenza with severity of myocardial infarction across different study
seasons in Bangladesh which, however, were statistically not
significant. Nevertheless, our results emphasize the importance of
increased awareness among patients with heart conditions as well as
among healthcare providers in Bangladesh about the possible risk of
seasonal outbreaks of influenza and other acute respiratory illnesses.
This may lead to improved timeliness of early interventions and hence
better patient outcomes. Our results indicate the need for further
studies, using prospective cohort or case-control design, and in
particular conducted over multiple seasons and multiple centers across
the country to investigate the association between recent respiratory
illness and influenza with onset of AMI in Bangladeshi context. Given
the known high prevalence of both acute cardiovascular events like AMI
as well as seasonal influenza (27) in
Bangladesh, and potential efficacy of influenza vaccination against
incidence of AMI, as revealed through recently completed large scale
clinical trial (22) and other
observational studies, benefits of influenza vaccination program as well
as infection prevention and control practices in Bangladesh deserve
further exploration. Our study may provide valuable insights about the
latent risk of acute respiratory illness and influenza for
cardiovascular patients in Bangladesh, but our results should be
cautiously considered in the context of their limitations and potential
biases.