Experts discover shingles jab could slash heart attack risk

The shingles vaccine reduces the risk of heart attack or stroke by almost a fifth, a study suggests.

Currently, the NHS only offers the jab to 65 to 79-year-olds and severely immunosuppressed patients from 50 years of age.

But new research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid, found it delivers cardiovascular health benefits to adults of all ages.

The injection, which has previously been linked to a reduced dementia risk, was associated with an 18 per cent reduction in risk of heart attacks or strokes in adults aged 18 or over and 16 per cent in those aged 50 or older.

The findings come as the health service prepares to expand access to the vaccine to all immunocompromised adults in England next week.

Shingles—also known as herpes zoster—is a painful rash caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus in a nerve.

After the initial infection, the varicella-zoster virus can remain dormant within the nervous system for decades before reactivating, causing shingles in around one in three individuals during their lifetime.

The infection typically lasts two to four weeks, and those with compromised immune systems are at risk of serious illness due to the virus.

Varicella-zoster virus can also invade blood vessels in the head, which may lead to inflammation and hamper their ability to function properly.

The new research, funded by pharmaceutical giant GSK, is the first major global study to comprehensively assess the evidence of a link between herpes zoster vaccination and cardiovascular events.

In studies that reported on absolute risk, the benefit of vaccination ranged from 1.2 to 2.2 fewer events per 1,000 person-years.

From Monday, any adults with a severely weakened immune system will be able to book a vaccination appointment through their GP surgery, including those with conditions such as leukaemia or lymphoma.

Study author, Dr Charles Williams, Global Associate Medical Director at GSK, said: ‘We looked at the currently available evidence, and found that in this analysis, vaccination against herpes zoster was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks or strokes.

‘Further research studies are now needed to find out whether this association can be attributed to an effect of herpes zoster vaccination.

‘While our findings are encouraging, there are some limitations to the available data that we studied.

‘Almost all the evidence came from observational studies, which are prone to bias and shouldn’t be used to infer causality.

‘All the studies used in the meta-analysis aimed primarily to investigate the use of herpes zoster vaccine to prevent shingles in the general population, which may limit the ability to generalise this research to people with a higher risk of cardiovascular events.

‘This demonstrates the need for more research in this area.’

Professor Filippo Crea, professor of Cardiology at the Catholic University in Rome, said the results indicate vaccinations reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

‘The reason for this benefit is that infections are inflammatory stimuli which enhance atherosclerosis progression [a condition where arteries become narrowed and hardened due to the buildup of plaque] and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

‘Thus, vaccinations reduce infection-related infectious burden and its detrimental effect on cardiovascular disease.’

Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific officer and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘There is great interest in studies suggesting the shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, although this analysis is largely based on observational studies, which cannot demonstrate cause and effect.

‘We know that shingles can cause inflammation in the body, and that inflammation is a culprit in many heart and circulatory conditions which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

‘By preventing shingles, vaccination could therefore be protective.

‘But far more research is needed, especially to understand the intriguing results in younger people.

‘More evidence will be needed before the shingles vaccine can be recommended for a wider age group.’

Commenting on the expanded NHS vaccine roll-out, Dr Amanda Doyle, national director for primary care and community services at NHS England, said: ‘Shingles can be seriously debilitating for older people and those with a severely weakened immune system, so following the latest expert guidance, the NHS is now expanding the potentially lifesaving jab to all severely immunosuppressed adults.

‘The vaccine is safe and effective and significantly reduces the chance of developing shingles and becoming seriously unwell, so I’d urge anyone newly eligible to come forward for their protection as soon as possible.’

Health Minister Ashley Dalton said: ‘Expanding shingles vaccination will protect even more people at greatest risk from this painful condition.

‘This Government is committed to preventive healthcare and ensuring those who are most vulnerable receive the protection they need.

‘I encourage all those eligible for the vaccine to come forward for their jab.’

Immunocompromised adults in England will be offered the Shingrix vaccine, manufactured by GSK.

During the first three years of the rollout, the NHS predicted that there would be an estimated 17,000 fewer episodes of shingles.