Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is associated with a long-term risk of almost 30% higher in major cardiovascular event, such as stroke or heart attack. Their results are published in the journal Journal of the American Heart Association.
Our results suggest that shingles has long-term implications and underscore the importance of public health efforts for prevention. Given the increasing number of Americans exposed to this painful and often debilitating disease and the availability of an effective vaccine, shingles vaccination could present a valuable opportunity to reduce the burden of shingles and decrease the risk of later cardiovascular complications. . »
Sharon Curhan, MD, ScM, senior author, physician, and epidemiologist in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Shingles often causes a painful rash and can occur anywhere on the head or body. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. When a person has chickenpox, the virus stays in their body for the rest of their life. Years or even decades later, the virus can reactivate as shingles. In the United States, almost everyone aged 50 and over has been infected with the varicella virus and is therefore at risk for shingles.
About 1 in 3 people will develop shingles in their lifetime, and the number of cases is expected to increase as the population ages and more people have their immunity compromised by disease or medication.
The most common complication of shingles is postherpetic neuralgia. This condition affects nerve fibers and the skin, causing burning pain that lasts long after the shingles rash and blisters have disappeared. However, growing evidence suggests that reactivating the virus may have even longer lasting side effects. The virus may play a role in the development of cardiovascular disorders, including stroke and coronary heart disease. The virus has been detected in small and large blood vessels, which, if exceeded, can cause inflammation as well as chronic vascular changes. These changes can increase the risk of clogged blood vessels, restricted blood flow, and cardiovascular events such as strokes and heart attacks.
The prospective, longitudinal study followed three large US cohorts of over 200,000 women and men: the Nurses’ Health Study (~79,000 women), the Nurses’ Health Study II (~94,000 women), and the Health Professionals Follow -Up Study (~31,000 men). The participants had no history of stroke or coronary heart disease. The team collected information on shingles, strokes and coronary heart disease using questionnaires collected every two years and confirmed diagnoses through medical records review. The team followed participants for up to 16 years and assessed whether those who had developed shingles had a higher risk of stroke or coronary heart disease years after the shingles episode.
The researchers tracked the incidence of stroke and coronary heart disease, defined by non-fatal or fatal myocardial infarction (heart attack) or a coronary revascularization procedure (coronary artery bypass graft or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty). The researchers also assessed a combined cardiovascular disease outcome, which included either stroke or coronary artery disease, whichever came first.
The results showed that people who had previously developed shingles had a 30% higher long-term risk of a major cardiovascular event than those who had not had shingles, and this elevated risk can persist for 12 years or more. after having shingles.
For timing reasons, much of the study took place before shingles vaccines were widely available. Even after their introduction, uptake of vaccination was generally low. Due to these limitations, the researchers were unable to assess whether vaccination status might influence the association between shingles and the long-term risk of a major cardiovascular event.
As more and more people choose to get vaccinated against shingles, future studies could examine whether vaccination influences the relationship between shingles and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Curhan adds, “We are currently collecting information about vaccination among our participants and hope to conduct these studies in the future. »
Source :
Hôpital Brigham and Women’s
Journal reference:
Curhan, S.G., et al. (2022) Herpes zoster and long-term risk of cardiovascular disease. Journal de l’American Heart Association. doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.122.027451.