Shingles is a painful skin condition caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. If you’ve had chickenpox before, the virus doesn’t actually leave your body—it just goes quiet.
But years later, especially in older adults, it can come back as shingles, showing up as a rash with burning or tingling pain.
Now, a new study suggests that shingles could be more than just uncomfortable—it might also raise your risk of serious health problems like heart attacks and strokes. Researchers found that when the virus reactivates, the risk of having a heart attack or stroke goes up, especially in the first month after shingles appears.
The danger is even greater when shingles affects a facial nerve. In these cases, the risk of a stroke can double or even triple. This makes prevention even more important—and that’s where the shingles vaccine comes in.
The shingles vaccine isn’t just helpful for preventing the rash. According to the study, it may also protect your heart and brain by lowering the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Lead researcher James Mbinta believes the vaccine has powerful potential benefits beyond the skin.
To study this, researchers looked at data from 278,375 adults in New Zealand who received the shingles vaccine between 2018 and 2021. Most of the people were aged 70 and older. They examined hospital records during two time periods: the first 42 days after vaccination and a later period between 72 and 162 days.
The findings were impressive. Fewer people were hospitalized for heart attacks or strokes during the first 42 days, suggesting that the vaccine may reduce the risk of these events by nearly half in the six weeks after getting the shot.
Professor Colin Simpson, another researcher involved in the study, pointed out that their findings matched earlier results from Australia. In that study, adults between 70 and 79 who received the shingles vaccine also had fewer strokes than those who didn’t.
This isn’t the first time the shingles vaccine has shown extra benefits. Previous research by Mbinta found that the vaccine can also lower the risk of hospital visits caused by nerve pain, a condition called postherpetic neuralgia that sometimes follows shingles.
About one in three people will get shingles in their lifetime, and the chance goes up with age. For adults 70 and older, getting the shingles vaccine could mean more than avoiding a painful rash—it could help prevent serious health issues like heart attacks and strokes.
As with any vaccine, it’s important to talk to your doctor about whether it’s right for you. But these findings highlight how one simple shot could make a big difference, not only in preventing shingles but also in protecting your overall health.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about Half of people with heart rhythm diseases dying of heart attack, stroke and findings of New method reduces heart attacks and strokes over five years.
For more information about stroke, please read studies about Blood thinner drug prevents strokes in hidden heart issues and findings of Intensive blood pressure treatments could prevent stroke in older adults.
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