- In August 2025, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) issued new guidance on vaccinations for people with heart disease.
- The updated guidelines, which consolidate recommendations issued by other expert bodies, highlight the importance of influenza, pneumococcal, COVID-19, RSV, and shingles vaccinations.
- Medical News Today spoke to an ACC expert who worked on the new guidelines and an independent cardiologist to learn more.
In August 2025, a panel of experts from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) issued a statement recommending updated guidelines on vaccinations for people with cardiovascular disease.
The guidelines, which are currently available as a preprint in JACC, the flagship journal of the ACC, consolidate recommendations around vaccinations for adults with cardiovascular issues made by other professional bodies, such as the
Paul A. Heidenreich, MD, professor of cardiology and vice chair for quality in the Department of Medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine, who was the chair of the ACC’s writing committee for the guidelines, told Medical News Today that there is no substantial difference between the ACC’s recommendations and those of other expert bodies, like the CDC.
“There were no important differences at the time of publication as the CDC recommendations were aligned with evidence from prior studies,” Heidenreich told us. “Any updates to the ACC vaccination recommendations will be made on new published data.”
The recent ACC statement highlights 5 vaccinations that it is important for people with cardiovascular disease to stay up-to-date with:
- influenza (flu) shots, recommended on a yearly basis to lower additional cardiovascular risks, including mortality
- pneumococcal (pneumonia) vaccination, which is a one-time vaccine recommended to all adults with heart disease to protect them from pneumonia, bacteremia (bacteria in the blood), and meningitis
- COVID-19 vaccination, currently recommended as a seasonal shot to lower the risk for heart attacks, as well as for pericarditis and myocarditis induced by this viral infection, COVID-19-induced strokes and atrial fibrillation, and long COVID
- respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, recommended as a single-dose, one-time vaccine for adults aged 50–74 with heart disease, and to all adults 75 and older, to fend off lower respiratory tract infections
- shingles vaccine, recommended as a two-dose vaccine for adults 50 or older, as shingles can increase the risk of stroke and heart attacks.
“There have been multiple studies showing that patients with heart disease benefit from vaccination, and these patients appear to benefit more than similar patients without heart disease,” Heidenreich told MNT, explaining that “having heart disease often increases risk of severe infection, and infection can also worsen heart disease.”
Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, who did not contribute to the ACC guidelines, further explained to MNT that:
“Staying up-to-date with vaccinations is extremely important for adults with heart disease, as respiratory infections can be very stressful on the heart. This increases the risk for developing a serious cardiovascular event, such as heart attack or heart failure. In addition, patients with underlying heart disease are more prone to developing serious complications from the infection itself, such as hospitalization, respiratory failure, or even death.”
“The influenza, pneumococcal, COVID-19, RSV, and shingles vaccines are all available to help prevent the spread of commonly transmissible infections that can have a serious impact on the health of patients with heart disease. By improving vaccination rates, we can hopefully prevent many potential complications of these infections,” Chen added.
One reason the ACC issued the recent statement highlighting important vaccination guidelines for people with cardiovascular issues was to help dismantle some of the barriers to vaccination that patients might encounter.
According to Chen, “some barriers to access to these vaccines include a lack of vaccine recommendations by primary care providers, a failure to assess patients’ vaccination status, and a lack of access to healthcare itself — [particularly] for underinsured populations.”
Additionally, Heidenreich pointed out that “finding time to be vaccinated is often an issue.”
“For this reason, we recommend that cardiology clinics routinely offer vaccination so the patient has an additional option for access to vaccination,” he told us.
While there is robust evidence supporting the safety and effectiveness of all these vaccines, some people, particularly older adults living with chronic Health conditions, may be hesitant to take them due to worries about side effects.
In such cases, “I would recommend that patients with hesitation about vaccines ask their Healthcare providers to explain the rationale behind vaccinations, discuss how vaccines can potentially prevent infection-related complications, and address concerns about vaccine side effects,” Chen advised.
“Once patients better understand the risks and benefits of vaccines, they are then able to better make an informed decision about accepting a physician’s recommendation,” he added.
Heidenreich had similar advice, encouraging people to speak openly to their trusted healthcare practitioners:
“The patient with concerns should talk with their cardiologist (in the case of those with heart disease) or other medical provider. Often, these concerns about side effects are unfounded, and the patient’s cardiologist can be an important source for current and factual information on side effects.”
