A new report suggests that shingles may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke at least in the short term.
The report, which is found in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, is based on a study conducted among more than 4,500 men and women whose ages were 50 years old and above. For the study, the investigators created two groups: people who had at least a single episode of shingles and those who never had any. Both of these groups had the same age and number of men and women for a more reliable comparison.
The researchers then determined their risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke. MI is also another term for a heart attack, which is characterized by the necrosis (death) of the cardiac (heart) tissue because of the lack of supply of blood with oxygen and nutrients that nourishes the organ. Stroke, on the other hand, occurs when blood supply to a section of the brain is cut off, causing the cells of the brain to die.
To get a more accurate analysis, the researchers examined the data for MI and stroke, respectively. They excluded sets that pertained to previous episodes of stroke and MI. The data analysis was conducted in different intervals: three months, six months, a year, and then three years after a shingle episode.
The researchers found that people who developed shingles tend to have many factors that increased their risk of stroke. However, even if they were taken into consideration, it still turned out that the risk of developing a stroke at least three months after shingles was 50%. Fortunately, the risks slowly disappeared the longer a person had his most recent shingle.
There was also a risk for MI, but it's not as strong as a stroke. The investigators also didn't find any connection for shingles and MI after three months.
It still remains unclear how shingles can increase the short-term risk of both MI and stroke, but the researchers believe it's because the virus that causes it, varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that can cause chickenpox, affects the nerves of the central nervous system and the vascular tissues. It's also possible that the stroke is the body's response to inflammation caused by the virus.
Shingles, which can happen to people who already had chickenpox, can last for around two to four weeks. Some of the symptoms include headache, fever, presence of rashes in certain parts of the body, numbness or itchiness on the affected area of the skin, and pain.
