FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): The flu seems extra dangerous this season, with Allen County’s top doctor saying the illness actually brings a higher risk of another big threat to your health.

Allen County Health Commissioner Dr. Deborah McMahan says the flu also makes you more vulnerable to a heart attack, the older you are:

“Older people, after they’ve had influenza, are at an increased risk for a heart attack for the first week,” McMahan says.

Seven people in Allen County have died from the virus this flu season, but McMahan says that number might actually be higher, as a number of cases are under review. Statewide, flu deaths are 60% higher than they were at this time last year.

“In the last few years, we’ve shifted from the dominant strain being H1N1, which is less aggressive, to this H3N2 strain, which is really a bad influenza virus,” McMahan adds.