People who received a shingles vaccine had a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular events, including stroke, heart failure, and coronary heart disease, found a study of more than a million participants.
The protective effect was strongest in the two to three years after the shingles vaccine, but lasted for up to eight years, the research showed.
The vaccine’s protective effect was particularly pronounced in men, people under 60 and those with unhealthy lifestyles.
The researchers studied people aged 50 or older living in South Korea who had the live zoster vaccine (as opposed to the recombinant vaccine now being used in many countries).
Professor Dong Keon Yon said: ‘Our study suggests that the shingles vaccine may help lower the risk of heart disease, even in people without known risk factors.’ Though no direct causal relationship was established.
The authors plan to study the recombinant vaccine to see if it has similar benefits.
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