5 ways to get the most out of your small business’s health insurance plan

Posted on January 23, 2023January 23, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

The Business Journals | By Cigna + Oscar | Oct 25, 2022 | Health Insurance

Whether you’ve just purchased small business health insurance or you’re shopping around, you’re probably aware that coverage can be costly, depending on the plan you purchase. According to a 2021 Kaiser Family Foundation report, the average annual premium was $7,739 for an individual and $22,221 for a family plan. Employers helped cover 83% of the costs for a single person and 63% of a family plan.

That’s why it’s critical to make the most of the plan you have — and help your employees stay engaged. Here are five key ways you can maximize your health insurance coverage, so your employees use the plan often, become healthier and help lower your business’s costs.

1. Emphasize the health insurance plan’s customer support programs and tools.

Some health plans offer dedicated customer support, online tools, and even concierge-like services that can help employees understand and use their plan. For example, Cigna + Oscar is unique in that it offers Care Guides, a team of professionals who help members find doctors and answer their questions about specific benefits and claims. Care Guides can also help coordinate care and prepare members for their upcoming procedures.

The more employees understand how their plan works, the more likely they are to use in-network providers, purchase generic medications, and rely on other cost-saving methods. In turn, this can help you, as an employer, lower your overall costs too.

2. Encourage your employees to manage their health insurance plan digitally.

If your health plan offers a mobile app, it may be where employees can access telemedicine services and prescription refill requests and even pay their premiums online. Encourage them to make the most of these convenient, digital services. After all, they help make your business’s health plan easy to use and can increase employee satisfaction.

If you’re shopping for a health plan now, look for one that offers digital services. You may want to ask your broker:

What telemedicine services are available to my employees, if any?
Is virtual urgent care available?
Can employees request prescription refills online?
Is there an easy way for employees to search if a doctor is in-network?
What other digital services are available with this health plan?

The bottom line: Today’s employees want to manage their healthcare at the click of a button. A convenient and easy-to-use mobile app and website can help them do that.

3. Communicate to employees about mental health care offerings.

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Illinois man inhales drill bit into the lung during a dentist visit

Posted on January 19, 2023January 13, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

ABC30.com | Tuesday, November 15, 2022 | Drill Bit | Dental Insurance

Doctors believe that inhaling just before he coughed sent the drill bit deep into the 60-year-old’s airways.

KENOSHA, Wisconsin — This could be a dental patient’s worst nightmare.

What began as a routine visit landed an Illinois man in the hospital after he inhaled the dentist’s drill bit, WISN reported.

The CT scan tells the shocking story: An inch-long dental drill bit had lodged deep in Tom Jozsi’s lung.

“I was at the dentist getting a tooth filled, and then next thing I know I was told I swallowed this tool, so I didn’t really even feel it going down. All I felt was a cough,” Jozsi said.

Doctors believe that inhaling just before he coughed sent the metal object deep into the 60-year-old maintenance worker’s airways.

It was so deep, pulmonary expert Dr. Abdul Alraiyes said, that normal scopes couldn’t reach it.

“When I saw the CAT scan, and where that object is sitting, it was really far down on the right lower lobe of the lung,” said Alraiyes, intervention pulmonary director at Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha.

“What happens if he can’t get it out? And really the answer really was, part of my lung was going to have to get removed,” Jozsi said.

That’s when Alraiyes and the Aurora Kenosha team decided to try a newer device, one not designed for removing foreign objects.

“It’s more for early detection of cancer, especially lung cancer,” Alraiyes said.

He said it’s the size of a catheter.

Video of the scan showed the medical team was able to navigate the narrow airways, reach the drill piece and pull it out, without any harm to the patient.

“I was never so happy in my life when I opened my eyes and I saw him with a smile under that mask, shaking a little plastic container that had the tool in it,” Jozsi said.

It’s a souvenir Jozsi said he now keeps on a shelf at home.

The drill bit was in the man’s lung for four days.

The doctor who removed it said he has heard from colleagues in Michigan and Ohio who reported seeing cases nearly identical to this one.

See the video of the Drill Bit!

International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week

Posted on January 17, 2023January 13, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

NationalToday.com | January 21, 2023 | Snowmobile Safety | Snowmobile Insurance

International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week starts on the third Saturday of January every year. Did you know that it has been more than 70 years since the first snowmobile was made? Snowmobiles are vehicles designed and built to be used in the snow. They’re a fun way to go about in places where there is heavy snowfall and are enjoyed by millions all over the world as a winter sport. But it does not come without safety concerns. Snowmobiles can quickly become dangerous if not used with the necessary precautions. International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week was created to spread awareness among the people about the safety precautions one needs to ensure before using a snowmobile, to keep them and the people around them safe.

HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL SNOWMOBILE SAFETY AND AWARENESS WEEK

Sledding has been a popular recreational activity for many centuries. However, the motorized sled was invented in 1927 by a mechanic in Valcourt Quebec named Joseph-Armand Bombardier. Bombardier made the first-ever motorized sled by using a propeller. A few years later in 1927, the motor toboggan was made. Bombardier used the wheel and track system to further improve his invention, and thus in 1935, the first snowmobile was made.

In the coming years, Bombardier would make modifications to the snowmobile, which became immensely popular. He patented the first seven-member snowmobile in 1937 and the 12-member capacity one in 1941. Bombardier’s snowmobiles turned out to be extremely useful for people, especially people working in the law enforcement, fire service, hospital emergency services, etc. Some of these vehicles were modified for military use and used by American troops in World War II.

By the 1960s, new snowmobiles with powerful engines emerged. It was popular among people around the world who lived in frigid regions where there was heavy snowfall. People enjoyed snowmobiles as a recreational activity and as a winter sport. It was also useful for going from place to place during the times heavy snowfall would block the roads.

Many incidents of accidents and mishaps involving snowmobiles were reported. Many were also concerned about fuel usage and its impact on the environment. In 1993, International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week was created to encourage people to use necessary safety equipment like helmets and protective gear and to use snowmobiles made by authorized companies that produce snowmobiles that undergo strict pollution checks.

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Save 20% or more on your heating costs this winter.

Slash Your Heating Costs This Winter

Posted on January 16, 2023January 12, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

Zen Business.com | By Patricia Schaefer | December 1, 2022 | Heating Costs | Shield Home Insurance

Use these low-cost and no-cost ways to lower your heating bill, regardless of your heat source. Read on if you’d like to save 20% or more on your heating bills this winter.

The cost of heating your home — and your home office — could put a huge hole in your budget this winter whether you heat with oil, gas, or electric. Even if you get the best price for heating oil in your area, for instance, you might need to spend more than $5,000 to keep your home warm.

But there are steps you can take to potentially save you 20% or more on heating costs when those penetrating arctic winds start to blow. For those on limited budgets, there are many ways to lower heating bills that don’t cost a dime. There are also weatherization applications that require anywhere from a small to middling investment of cash, yet these applications will subsequently lower both energy consumption and future heating bills. Over time, these investments can be expected to more than pay for themselves.

Cost-Free Ways to Lower Heating Bills

Lower your thermostat. Try reducing your usual daytime temperature by at least one degree. For each lowered degree, you’ll save one to three percent off those heating bills. At night, turn down the thermostat to 60 degrees. It’s much healthier, you’ll feel better when you awaken, and you’ll save money. If you go away for a weekend or more, lower the thermostat to 55 degrees.
Run bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans less. Exhaust fans pull warm air out of the house and let in cooler air that will need to be heated. Use fans only when necessary.
If you have a service contract with a heating provider, it will usually include an annual check and tune-up of your heating system. Don’t rely on the company to contact you about scheduling this service. Be sure it’s performed annually before winter arrives; doing so can save up to 10% on heating bills.
Close the damper on your fireplace when not in use. If not, your chimney will draw warm air out of the room and create a draft.
Close off unused spaces (attic, garage, basement, spare bedrooms, storage areas, etc.) or heat only those rooms that you use. If your heating system has vents, close off heating vents in unused rooms.
If you have ceiling fans, reverse the switch so they blow upward toward the ceiling. The reverse air circulation promotes heating efficiency in the winter.
Reduce your hot water heater temperature to 115-120 degrees.
Keep blinds and drapes open on sun-exposed windows during the day. Close these same drapes at night to help impede the escape of heat.
Dust builds up on radiators and baseboard heating vents, and then reduces the amount of heat that can get into a room. Dust and vacuum these surfaces often.
Prune branches from trees and bushes that block the sun’s rays into your home.

If possible, sign up for a budget plan with your heating provider. Although this will not reduce the actual yearly dollar amount, it will make your bill-paying more manageable when spread evenly over a 12-month period.
When you add energy-efficient items to your home, check for possible tax breaks or discounts on homeowner insurance policies.
Check with local utility companies for free energy audits. Certain energy-saving devices may also be provided and installed free of charge. Lower-income households typically qualify for these free products and services.

Lower heating costs with energy-saving devices and services

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New Year’s Resolutions Statistics 2023

Posted on January 13, 2023January 12, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

Forbes.com | By Sarah Davis | Jan 11, 2023 | New Year’s Resolutions | Shield Insurance Agency

The start of a new year serves as an opportunity for many to set new goals and commit to better habits. But what happens when the energy and excitement after the ball drops wear off—and how many New Year’s resolutions fail to come to fruition?

Below, we explore exactly what types of goals are set—and by whom—as well as what statistics say about the likelihood of those intentions turning into reality.

Interesting New Year’s Resolutions Statistics at a Glance

A new survey from Forbes Health/OnePoll of 1,005 U.S. adults (conducted Nov. 18 through Nov. 28, 2022) looked at Americans’ attitudes surrounding resolution setting and what types of goals were prioritized.

Interestingly, the survey highlighted a couple of standout themes: Many people—particularly young people—are prioritizing their mental health over their physical health, and a decent portion of respondents feel pressured to set resolutions.

Specifically, the survey found:

29% say they feel pressured to set a new year’s resolution.
- Gen Z feels more pressure to set a resolution than any other generation (39%).
- Men (35%) feel more pressured to set a resolution than women (28%).
Overall, 20% of people say improving mental health is a top priority in 2023 while 16% say improved physical health is more important to them.
- 62% say physical and mental health is of equal importance.
More people cite improved mental health as a top resolution (45%) compared to improved fitness (39%), weight loss (37%), and improved diet (33%).
- Women are more likely than men to cite improved mental health as a resolution (47% compared to 40%) while men are more likely to prioritize goals related to physical health, such as improved diet and fitness.
- Baby boomers are more likely than any other age group to cite losing weight as a top resolution (54%).
77% of respondents say they keep themselves accountable when it comes to sticking to their goals.
- Of all groups, Gen Z is the least likely to cite themselves as the person responsible for keeping them accountable for their goals.
Overall, 81% of respondents feel confident in their ability to reach their goals, and only 5% lack this confidence.
- Men are more confident (86%) than women (79%) in their ability to reach their goals.
Overall, only 6% of respondents cite reducing alcohol consumption as a top resolution.
- Millennials are keener to give up alcohol than Gen Z (8% compared to 4%).
52% plan on using a resource, such as an app, online platform, or membership, for assistance in sticking to their resolutions.
- Men are more likely than women to rely on these resources (59% compared to 50%).
- Apps are the most popular accountability tool.
85% of respondents say their New Year’s resolution will have a positive impact beyond 2023.
- 25% say that their resolution will have a positive impact for one to two years, and 57% believe it’ll have an impact for three years or more.

Most Common New Year’s Resolutions

For 2023, the Forbes Health/OnePoll survey found some resolutions to be more common than others, with the most popular goals including:

Improved mental health (45%)
Improved fitness (39%)
Lose weight (37%)
Improved diet (33%)
Improved finances (30%)

Less popular resolutions include stop smoking (14%), learn a new skill (12%) and make time for hobbies (11%). Notably, Gen Z is more likely to prioritize improved mental health as a 2023 resolution than any other generation (50%).

2023 New Year’s Resolutions By Age

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General Information about Blood and Blood Donation

January is Blood Donation Month

Posted on January 4, 2023January 4, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

AmericasBlood.org | May 2022 | Blood Donation | Medical Insurance

U.S. Blood Donation Statistics and Public Messaging Guide

Over 40 verified statistics from published research.

Designed for blood centers, media, and anyone who is generally interested in the current state of blood donations and utilization, this guide is the first of its kind designed to provide the latest look at America’s blood supply and its donors. It uses data curated from published research, credible public sources, and input from industry experts. We encourage readers to use the editable social media graphics contained in this guide that highlight the 13 of the most widely used statistics.

This Guide will be updated annually to reflect the latest statistics.

General Information about Blood and Blood Donation

Q1.1: do blood donations help patients in need?

■ Every donation can help save a life.

■ Each donation can help save or deeply impact more than one life.

Q1.2: How many patients can each blood donation help?

■ One donation can help two or more patients in need. Each donation can be separated into more than one blood product including but not limited to red blood cells, plasma, and platelets.

■ Some donations result in two or three of the same type of product, just more doses for patients (e.g., double red blood cells, plasma from automation, or platelets from automation).

■ Each traditional whole blood donation can be separated into different blood product components in the lab (red blood cells and plasma) and depending on the amount of time from donation to the lab, additional products can be made such as platelets and cryoprecipitate which are used in cancer treatment and heart surgeries.

Q1.3: How many blood centers are there in the U.S.? How much do they collect?

According to the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Blood Establishment Registration database1, there are 53 community blood centers and 90 hospitalbased blood centers in the U.S. Independent, community blood centers collect approximately 60

percent of the nation’s blood supply and the American Red Cross collects approximately 40 percent.

Q1.4: How often can individuals donate blood in the U.S.?

Individuals can donate whole blood no more than once in eight weeks.

Individuals can donate platelets (apheresis donation) as much as twice in a seven-day period — or up to 24 times in a rolling 12 months.

Individual blood centers may apply additional policies.

Q1.5: How many pints of blood do people have in their body?

An average adult has about 10.5 pints of blood in their body.

Q1.6: What is the prevalence of each blood type among the U.S. population?

The approximate distribution of blood types in the blood donor population is as follows.

Distribution may be different for specific racial and ethnic groups and in different parts of the country.

TABLE: PREVALENCE OF BLOOD TYPE 7 BLOOD TYPE PREVALENCE HOW COMMON IS YOUR BLOOD?

O Rh-positive 39% 1 in 2.5
O Rh-negative 7% 1 in 11
A Rh-positive 32% 1 in 3
A Rh-negative 6% 1 in 17
B Rh-positive 11% 1 in 11
B Rh-negative 2% 1 person in 50
AB Rh-positive 4% 1 person in 25
AB Rh-negative 1% 1 person in 100

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10 Things You Need to Know About Social Security

Posted on December 29, 2022December 28, 2022 by Shield Insurance Agency

Answers to frequently asked questions about your retirement benefits

AARP | Andy Markowitz | Updated June 21, 2022 | Social Security | Life Insurance

Social Security provides benefits to more than 65 million people, and those monthly payments have an enormous impact on older Americans’ financial health. According to Census Bureau data:

Social Security accounts for at least 50 percent of income for more than half of households headed by someone 65 or older.
It provides nearly 80 percent of income for 1 in 5 such households.
It keeps more than 26.5 million people from falling below the poverty line.

An institution that looms so large in American life is bound to generate questions about what it does and how it works. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Social Security. You’ll find more detailed information on these issues in AARP’s Social Security Resource Center.

1. Is Social Security just for retired workers?

No. As of April 2022, 72.7 percent of beneficiaries were retirees. The remainder were spouses, ex-spouses and children of retirees (4.3 percent); disabled workers and their families (14 percent); and survivors of deceased beneficiaries (9 percent).

2. At what age can I start collecting Social Security benefits?

You can begin receiving retirement benefits at age 62, but your payments will be more significant if you wait until your full retirement age (66 years and 4 months for people born in 1956, gradually rising over the next few years to 67). If you are eligible for survivor benefits or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you can start collecting earlier.

3. How do I sign up for Social Security?

You can apply for retirement, spousal or disability benefits online, by phone at 800-772-1213, or at your local Social Security office. For survivor benefits, you can apply by phone or in person. Local offices reopened to walk-in traffic in April after being largely closed to visitors for more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the Social Security Administration (SSA) strongly recommends calling ahead to make an appointment.

4. How long do I need to work to become eligible for benefits?

For retirement benefits, at least 10 years. Social Security uses a system of credits, which you collect by working and paying Social Security taxes. You can earn up to four credits a year, and you need 40 credits to qualify for retirement benefits. The credit threshold may be lower for disability benefits.

No, you can receive benefits while working. But if you are below full retirement age and earn more than a certain amount, your monthly benefits will be temporarily reduced. Once you reach full retirement age, the reduction is eliminated, and your benefits will be increased to make up for what was lost over time.

5. Must I stop working to collect retirement benefits?

6. How much will I get from Social Security?

That depends on a number of factors, most crucially your lifetime earnings from work in which you paid Social Security taxes. Social Security takes your 35 highest-earnings years, calculates an inflation-adjusted average, and plugs that into a progressive formula that determines your “basic” benefit. The amount will also be affected by how old you are when you claim benefits. You won’t know it for sure until you file, but you can use the AARP Social Security Calculator to get an estimate.

7. What’s the maximum monthly Social Security benefit?

10 Wellness Trends From 2022 That Experts Say You Should Keep In 2023

Posted on December 27, 2022December 27, 2022 by Shield Insurance Agency

From fitness to trauma healing to your “villain era,” here are the wellness trends experts say are actually useful.

HuffPost.com | Jillian Wilson | Dec 14, 2022, 12:24 PM EST | Trends | Shield Health Insurance

A lot of things trend on social media, and many of those trending topics aren’t good. In fact, they can be pretty harmful (looking at you, NyQuil chicken). But, like all trends, they capture attention for a reason — some of these popular topics even prove pretty useful.

In the wellness world, including fitness and mental health, hundreds of trends have come out this year or simply grown in popularity. From hot girl walks to healing your inner child, many healthy trending topics are in the zeitgeist for a good reason.

And just because they’re trending now doesn’t mean they need to end in 2023. If anything, they should be continued and explored more. Lindsay Monal, a yoga teacher at YogaRenew Teacher Training, said that it’s important to follow the trends that you like and that will keep you consistent in your practice, whether mental health or fitness.

Here are the most useful fitness and mental health trends of 2022, according to experts:

Mental health trends

End of people pleasing and entering your “villain” era

The simple search “villain era” on TikTok brings up thousands of videos that showcase people putting an end to people pleasing and embracing their so-called villain era.

But while boundary setting and putting an end to people pleasing are both valuable for your mental health, there is something wrong with this being phrased as villainous behavior, according to Sarah Sarkis, an executive coach and senior director of performance psychology at Exos, a corporate wellness company.

“The ‘villain era’ is really an inaccurate depiction of people setting healthy boundaries,” Sarkis said. “While the trend means well, we shouldn’t be vilifying taking a step away from pleasing others to prioritize our own needs and well-being.”

She asked: “If we are always pleasing other people but never addressing our own needs, who are we actually being a villain to? Ourselves perhaps? Is that OK?” The answer: No, it is not.

She noted that burnout (think: holiday stress, work stress, family pressure and more) is a significant driver of this end of people pleasing. “We’re starting to see this shift to reverse years if not generations worth of conditioning to put others’ needs before our own,” Sarkis said.

Healing your inner child

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How to Avoid the Hidden Health Hazards of Travel

Posted on December 26, 2022December 22, 2022 by Shield Insurance Agency

Experts offer tips to help prevent injury and illness on your next trip

AARP | By Jaimie Seaton | December 22, 2022 | Health | Shield Health Insurance

This past summer I traveled to London and then to Scotland to attend my daughter’s college graduation. It was a jam-packed two days of garden parties, family dinners, and cocktail hours following the commencement ceremony.

On the day I traveled back to London, a shortage of taxis forced me to wheel my large suitcase and carry-on bag about a mile over cobblestones to the train station — my purse and shopping bag slung over my shoulder. In Edinburgh, I carried my bags up a flight of stairs in order to make my connection, and at Heathrow airport, there was walking and moved my bags through a security line for more than an hour.

Once seated on the plane, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my right elbow. Over the next week, the pain got worse and extended down my arm. I went to an orthopedist, who diagnosed tennis elbow. He surmised that dragging and carrying my heavy bags was the cause.

The pain only lasted another week or so, thanks to ice and stretching, but the whole experience left me wondering what other dangers might await me on my next trip. So I asked some experts.

“I frequently hear stories like yours,” says Sajida Saeed Chaudry, M.D., a primary care physician who specializes in preventive care at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians. She added that her patients, especially those age 50 and over, tell her tales of getting lost while on vacation and having to walk for miles, causing foot injuries, or hurting their back by putting a heavy bag in an overhead compartment or taking it off a conveyor belt.

“There’s an element of stress and rushing, creating the perfect storm for things to go wrong,” Chaudry says.

Before you go | health

Chaudry has some simple tips to help prevent injuries or health emergencies during travel, beginning with comfortable footwear. She also recommends establishing an exercise routine prior to traveling and ramping it up if you’re planning on doing a lot of walking. “If you’re routinely walking and suddenly go from 5,000 to 20,000 steps, those extra steps won’t bother you as much,” Chaudry says.

Another travel tip: Pack extra must-have items in your carry-on bag. “I always tell patients, when they’re traveling, to have a back-up pair of glasses or hearing aids, and to keep them (close). Don’t put them in checked luggage,” Chaudry says. “It’s also a good idea to have your medical history and list of medications handy.”

Health in the airport and on the plane

Traveling light and using elevators when possible can help lower the risk of injury. If you notice pain from walking or carrying a suitcase, Chaudry says to follow the RICE regimen: Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. And she cautions against ignoring pain and pushing through, especially for those at greater risk of fracture, such as those with osteoporosis. “If the pain isn’t going away after a few days, that’s really a sign to check in with the doctor and make sure that there’s an evaluation,” she says.

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4 Surprising Benefits of the Flu Shot

Posted on December 15, 2022December 14, 2022 by Shield Insurance Agency

The vaccine can protect you from influenza, and it may have some other perks as well

AARP | by Beth Howard | October 3, 2022 | Flu Shot | Health Insurance with Shield Insurance

Not getting sick from the flu is reason enough to roll up your sleeve for a flu vaccine every fall. And along with preventing millions of cases of influenza each year, flu shots also reduce hospitalizations for complications of this misery-making seasonal illness.

A 2021 study from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that adults who got vaccinated were 26 percent less likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit and 31 percent less likely to die from the flu compared to those who were unvaccinated. There seems to be protection from illness even when vaccines aren’t perfectly matched to the strain of flu virus circulating (since the shot is formulated months in advance).

But evidence suggests that there are other payoffs beyond defense from fever, fatigue, chills, and aches.

“People don’t really appreciate the other potential benefits of flu shots,” says Michelle Barron, M.D., senior medical director of infection prevention and control for UCHealth in Aurora, Colorado. “It’s actually arming your immune system to fend off other problems.”

Here are four unexpected ways a flu vaccine can benefit the body and the brain.

1. A boost for the brain?

Previous research has suggested that flu vaccines may protect the brain from dementia, and a new study from the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston makes the case even stronger.

This study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, compared more than 47,000 people age 65 and older who were vaccinated against flu to a similar group of nearly 80,000 people who were not vaccinated. The findings: Those who got a flu shot were 40 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease over a four-year period.

“We weren’t actually expecting it to be that high,” says study coauthor Avram S. Bukhbinder, M.D., now a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Bukhbinder has several theories for the vaccination’s potential effects on the brain. Perhaps by preventing the flu, the shot quells inflammation that can lead to harmful brain changes.

His most intriguing hypothesis is that vaccines alter the brain’s overall defenses. “There’s good evidence that when we get these vaccines, they help us make antibodies to the specific pathogen — the influenza virus,” he says. “But they may also modify the immune system in such a way that it’s better at either cleaning up amyloid and tau [the proteins responsible for the plaques and tangles that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s] or by preventing these proteins from building up in the first place.”

2. The flu shot is linked to a stronger heart

A history of heart disease or a stroke can make flu more likely and more dangerous. In addition, flu can be a trigger for heart attacks and strokes in people at high risk for them.

According to a 2018 Canadian study, people who got the flu were 6 times more likely to have a heart attack within a week of getting the diagnosis. And Columbia University researchers saw a significant jump in strokes in the month after fighting the flu, according to new research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.

A flu shot can also spare you the potential heart harms. A new study led by the University of Toronto that incorporated six previous studies covering more than 9,000 patients showed that people who received a flu vaccine had a 34 percent lower risk of a major cardiovascular event in the 12 months following vaccination. Higher-risk vaccinated individuals with acute coronary syndrome — a group of conditions that abruptly stop blood flow to the heart — had a 45 percent risk reduction of a major cardiovascular event, and a 56 percent reduced risk of dying from heart disease in the year after they got the shot, according to the findings, which appear in JAMA Network Open. How the flu shot protects the heart isn’t fully known, but it may have to do with the plaques that build up on the artery walls of people with heart disease. The body’s immune response to the flu creates inflammation that is believed to disrupt these fat deposits, causing blood clots that may trigger heart attacks and strokes.

“The vaccine may interact with the body’s immune system and inflammatory processes to help stabilize plaques that might be present in blood vessels, thus preventing these plaques from rupturing and causing further problems,” says lead study author Bahar Behrouzi Homa, an M.D./Ph.D. candidate at the university.

3. The flu shot could curb complications from other chronic conditions

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