MedWire News: Patients with heart failure who receive the influenza vaccination do not gain as much protection as other people who receive the jab, researchers have found.

Influenza can be potentially life-threatening for patients with heart failure and other heart conditions, which is why annual influenza vaccination is widely recommended for such patients.

But the findings of the current study suggest that additional preventative steps might be needed to boost protection against the flu virus in patients with heart failure.

Dr Orly Vardeny, from the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy in Madison, USA, and team studied 29 patients with heart failure and 17 healthy participants without the condition.

All the participants underwent blood tests before and after receiving the flu jab to assess their production of immune system antibodies against the virus.

The team found that the patients with heart failure produced significantly fewer antibodies against the flu virus after vaccination than the other participants, and were therefore at greater risk of infection.

"Healthy individuals had stronger antibody responses to the influenza vaccine and, therefore, better protection from infection," said Dr Vardeny.

He added that further research is needed to find out why patients with heart failure have a poor immune system response to the flu virus.

"It's important to understand how these patients respond to the vaccine in order to devise better strategies to minimize infection-related complications and death," Dr Vardeny concluded.

The research was presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago, Illinois, USA.