Shingles vaccine lowers risk of heart disease for 8 years, study finds

Getting a shingles vaccine may help with more than the viral infection that causes painful rashes — new research shows it can also lower the risk of heart disease. 

In the study, published Monday in the European Heart Journal, researchers found people given the shot had a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular events, including stroke, heart failure and coronary heart disease, for up to 8 years. 

The study examined more than 1 million people aged 50 or older with data from 2012 onward. The protective effect was particularly prominent in men, people under 60 and those who smoke, drink or aren't active, the study found. 

Dong Keon Yon, a professor from the Kyung Hee University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, who led the study, said in a news release that there are several reasons why the shingles vaccine may help reduce heart disease. 

"A shingles infection can cause blood vessel damage, inflammation and clot formation that can lead to heart disease. By preventing shingles, vaccination may lower these risks," he explained. "Our study found stronger benefits in younger people, probably due to a better immune response, and in men, possibly due to differences in vaccine effectiveness." 

The vaccine analyzed was a live zoster vaccine, which contains a weakened form of the varicella zoster virus that causes shingles. Not everyone can take the live vaccine, however, including those with certain immune system conditions, and some countries are replacing it with non-live, recombinant vaccines. 

The United States is among the countries that use the new vaccine, Shingrix, which was introduced in 2017. The vaccine, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is more than 90% effective in preventing shingles. It replaced the previously used single-dose live vaccine, Zostavax, by Merck.

"Since the live zoster vaccine is not suitable for everyone, more research on the recombinant vaccine is needed" to confirm if it has a similar impact, Yon said, adding that the study also does not establish a direct causal relationship. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already recommends that everyone get the two-dose shingles vaccine starting at age 50.

Shingles, which causes a painful rash, is caused by the same virus behind chickenpox. The virus lies dormant in people who've had chickenpox and years later can reactivate as shingles. The risk of shingles also increases with age, particularly in those older than 50, according to the CDC.

This isn't the first time a shingles vaccine has been shown to have other possible health benefits. A study last year found latest shingles shot also seems to delay the onset of dementia, a memory-impairing condition.

In that study, published in Nature Medicine in July, researchers found people who got the vaccine lived, on average, an additional 164 days without a dementia diagnosis compared to those who received the previous shingles vaccines.

"The fact that we have a vaccine that's already approved, already out there, covered by insurance, super easy to get. The fact that this is showing this kind of level of protection is really promising for a lot," Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said on "CBS Mornings" at the time.