The Shingles Vaccine Could Be a Secret Weapon Against Heart Attacks
The benefits of avoiding shingles through vaccinations are piling up. New research out this week has found a link between getting vaccinated for shingles and a reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Researchers from Kyung Hee University in South Korea led the study, published Monday in the European Heart Journal. They studied the medical records of over a million South Korean residents, finding that shingles-vaccinated people were noticeably less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than unvaccinated people. The findings are the latest to suggest that shingles is even worse for our health than currently thought.
'This suggests that the vaccine may provide not only protection against shingles itself but also potential benefits for heart health,' study researcher Sooji Lee told Gizmodo in an email. 'Because our study was conducted in a large general population, these findings may be broadly applicable.'
Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same germ that causes chickenpox in children. Though chickenpox is usually short-lasting, if unpleasant, the virus can survive the initial immune response and lie dormant in our bodies for decades. When our immune system gets weaker, usually due to age, the virus can reactivate and trigger a new infection that we call shingles.
This second bout is typically worse, causing symptoms like excruciating pain and rashes that last for several weeks. Sometimes, shingles can even leave behind lingering, potentially lifelong nerve pain.
As bad as shingles is, ongoing research suggests it may also increase the risk of future health problems. Multiple studies have linked shingles to a greater risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, for instance—and conversely, a lower risk of dementia has been linked to shingles vaccination. Some studies have also suggested that shingles can cause heart complications after infection. But according to the researchers, there hasn't been extensive research looking into whether vaccination can prevent these problems from arising.
In South Korea, healthcare is largely covered through a single-payer, publicly funded system. This system means that scientists can more easily study the health of South Korea's population using de-identified (anonymous) data. The researchers cross-referenced different sources of data to track the shingles vaccination status and cardiovascular health of South Korean residents aged 50 and above starting in 2012, when the vaccine first became available in the country.
They ultimately found that shingles vaccination was associated with a 23% lower risk of any cardiovascular condition, along with a 26% lower risk of major cardiovascular events (heart attacks and strokes) and a 26% lower risk of heart failure. The associated reduction in cardiovascular disease was strongest in the first two to three years following vaccination, but could still be seen up to eight years later. The protection from vaccination also appeared to be stronger in men, people in poorer pre-existing health, and people living in rural or low-income neighborhoods.
The findings suggest that 'zoster vaccination may be beneficial as a public health strategy with potential implications for cardiovascular disease burden in the general population,' the authors wrote.
These sorts of studies are observational, meaning that they can't definitively prove a causative link between two factors, only show a correlation (in this case, between shingles vaccination and reduced heart disease). But the authors note that shingles can cause inflammation, clots, and general blood vessel damage—all known risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The authors also speculated that the nerve damage caused by shingles could possibly disturb our heart rhythm, which can trigger problems like cardiac arrest.
Another consideration is that the researchers only studied the potential effects of an older shingles vaccine, Zostavax, one that uses a weakened version of the virus to generate immunity. That vaccine has largely been replaced by a different type of shingles vaccine named Shingrix that only uses a protein from the virus. This newer vaccine is more effective at preventing shingles, and some research has suggested that it might offer greater protection from dementia as well. But it will take more research to confirm whether the current vaccine can offer the same level of protection—or even better.
Lee says that her team is now planning to study whether Shingrix can potentially offer the same level of protection—or even better.
All that said, shingles can be extremely unpleasant, so getting vaccinated against it is already worthwhile. If we're lucky, the vaccine might even boost our brain and heart health, too.
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