Shingles Vaccine associated with lower risk of many common heart problems

Vaccination against herpes zoster, better known as shingles, not only helps to take this painful infection; It also slows down the risk of cardiovascular problem.

A new observation survey of more than a million people shows that those who had an injection of shingles, vaccine zostavax we 26 percent who are likely to die from heart disease or experience a stroke, heart attack or heart failure, compared to people who did not have that Sooji Lee at Kyung Hee University in South Korea.

“We know that shingles inflammatory causes in the blood vessels,” she says. “So by preventing infection, the vaccine can also reduce the risk of heart -vessel -Dissase.”

Shingles occur when the Varicella-Zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and then stays in the body after the symptoms are clear. This can happen when the immune system is weakened, such as during periods of stress or chemotherapy. Shingles cause a painful rash that can sometimes be infected or leave a scar.

Although cardiovascular events are not typically listed as complications of shingles, researchers now know that there is a approx. 30 percent smooth with stroke and one 10 per A hundred greater risk of heart attacks, especially within a year that hovers it.

To see if vaccination limited this, Lee and her colleagues collected data on 1,271,922 people aged 50 or over, collection between 2012 and 2024 by the National Health Registers in South Korea. The researchers decided who each person had Zostavax or not, and checked for later development of 18 types of heart -vessel diseases, such as heart failure, stroke, thrombossi, arrhythmias and ischemia. The team also examined other health -related factors such as age, gender, socio -economic status, training levels and social habits.

During an average follow -up period of six years, the risk of cardiovascular events after vaccination was 23 percent lower compared to the unwaccinated people, Lee says.

Risk reduction was even greater in men – with vaccination associated with a 27 percent drop compared to 20 percent for women. The same was true in humans younger than 60 who had a reduced risk of 27 percent compared to 16 percent in the elderly. Residents of rural areas had one 25 per year. Reduction against 20 per Century for those in urban areas, and people with low income showed a 26 percent decline compared to 20 percent in higher revenue. As for people with obesity, their risk reduction fell as BMI frightened.

For specific cardiovascular events, vaccinated people were 26 per day. A hundred less likely to have a stroke, heart attack or heart failure, and they were also 26 percent who would probably die from heart disease. The risk of coronary artery disease, meanwhile, decreased 22 percent.

Benefits were most pronounced two to three years after vaccination, and were then gradually diminished over the next five years.

The study “strengthens our confidence” that vaccinations of shingles cut cardiovascular risks, probably by limiting the vascular inflammation caused by the Zoster virus, says Galen Foulke at Pennsylvania State University.

“Zoster himself has great morbidity from pain and post-herpetic neuralgi-a painful condition that can last years after shingles,” he says. “But health systems surround the world could find enormous savings in health care through the reduction of cardiovascular morbidity by investing in the relatively cheap zoster vaccine.”

Although more research is needed, researchers help suspicious that the vaccine helps reduce cardiovascular risks indirectly Belcause that it presents shingles that can damage blood vessels and provoke the formation of coagulations and inflammation, says Lee.

The researchers first focused on the live virus vaccine Zostavax rather than the newer Shingrix-A-Rominant vaccine that contains only one viral protein rather than self-Becaus Zostavax has been available to lie, which means there is more but they are now turning their attention to Shingrix.

“Becuse It is more effective in preventing shingles, we believe that the recombinant vaccine can offer even stronger cardiovascular protection,” says Lee.

While the study design cannot prove cause and effect as a randomized trial could, it allows researchers to identify risk associations across large populations. Such large data can reveal patterns that clinical trials can miss, says Lee.