| Published 3/28/2003 Another death is linked to smallpox vaccine CDC: Heart problems, shots may be related
By Laura Meckler WASHINGTON - A second health-care worker has died of a heart attack after receiving the smallpox vaccine, and officials are investigating whether vaccinations are to blame for cardiac problems seen in 17 people who have been inoculated. The vaccine has never been associated with heart trouble, but as a precaution, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising people with a history of heart disease not to be vaccinated pending further investigation. CDC officials said Thursday there was some evidence the smallpox vaccine has played a role in heart inflammation. They were less certain whether recent heart attacks were related to the vaccine. The issue of smallpox vaccine safety gained new urgency this week after a Maryland nurse died Sunday of a heart attack, and the CDC launched an inquiry on a possible connection between heart disease and the vaccine. On Wednesday, Virginia Jorgensen, 57, of St. Petersburg, Fla., who
was a nurse's aide at a local hospital died. She suffered a heart attack
about two weeks after being vaccinated against smallpox.
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