4 Benefits of Wearing a Face Mask Beyond COVID

"Trying to reduce the chance you get sick with a respiratory virus during respiratory season makes sense," says Abraar Karan, M.D., an infectious disease fellow at Stanford University.

What's more, recent research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology suggests that cold weather can make our respiratory systems more susceptible to infection, not to mention other respiratory problems, like difficulty breathing. But masks can "help reduce the exposure of the respiratory system to cold air by providing a layer of protection against the cold," says Sadeer Al-Kindi, M.D., a cardiologist at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute in Cleveland.

Don't forget about taking other measures when it comes to preventing respiratory illnesses, Saade adds. Get your flu shot each year, your pneumococcal vaccine when you are eligible, and stay up to date on your COVID vaccines. There isn't a vaccine for RSV yet but there could be soon. Also: Wash your hands and opt for outdoor activities when possible.

Dodging COVID, flu and other infections can help to keep your heart healthy, too.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers linked recent infections such as pneumonia and urinary tract infections to an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that the incidence of hospital admissions for a heart attack was six times higher after a bout with the flu.

Possible reasons? Infections can cause an inflammatory response that can make a person more prone to blood clots. "It's a trigger for the blood vessels to get blocked up and puts us at higher risk of serious events like heart attack and stroke," Kamakshi Lakshminarayan, M.D., an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and a coauthor on the Journal of the American Heart Association study, said in a news release.

Her advice? To protect your ticker, do what you can to help prevent infections in the first place.

Joyce Sampson is a journalist who writes about health and wellness, among other topics. Her work has appeared in Montgomery Magazine and Brain & Life Magazine. She is also a stroke survivor.

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