Shingles In Older Adults May Increase Stroke, Heart Attack Risk

Shingles may increase the risk of stroke or heart attack--particularly in older individuals.

Study findings revealed that stroke risk more than doubled in the first week following a shingles' diagnosis. Heart attack risk also increased, but not quite as much, according to Health Day.

"The study highlights when patients with shingles may be most vulnerable," explained study author Caroline Minassian, a research fellow in the faculty of epidemiology and population health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in England, via the news organization. "If we know when these events are more likely to happen, this may potentially help to prevent strokes and heart attacks in older people."

During the study, researchers examined 137,000 Medicare beneficiaries--43,000 Medicare recipients of whom were diagnosed with shingles and stroke between 2006 and 2011, according to Live Science. Close to 24,000 recipients with shingles also suffered from a heart attack in the same time frame. Two-thirds of the participants were women, average age of 80, and the majority of participants (90 percent) were Caucasian.

Researchers found that stroke risk rose "significantly" when compared with patient risk prior to a shingles diagnosis for up to three months. Furthermore, there was more than a twofold rise in risk during the first week. However, this dissipated after six months, researchers say. 

They also found an increased risk in heart attack, with almost a doubling in risk that occurred duriing the first week following a shingles diagnosis. 

There is currently no evidence that shingles vaccinations prevented or aggravated risk for either, researchers say. 

The study is published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

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