Best Evidence Yet That Shingles Vaccine Is Cardioprotective
(MedPage Today) -- The idea that herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination may have cardiovascular benefits was backed by the results of a natural experiment, researchers found. Investigators saw clear differences in patient outcomes between those...
A natural experiment comparing shingles vaccination outcomes in 2017 and 2018 has provided strong evidence that the vaccine may offer cardioprotective benefits, according to researchers from the University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. The study, published in Nature Medicine, found that patients vaccinated with the recombinant herpes zoster vaccine (Shingrix) in 2018 had reduced composite cardiovascular outcomes, ischemic heart disease, and heart failure compared to those vaccinated with the live-attenuated vaccine (Zostavax) in 2017.
If confirmed in clinical trials, this could prevent hundreds of thousands of cases of ischemic heart disease and heart failure among adults over 60 in the United States alone. The researchers propose that the vaccine's immune and endothelial changes may be responsible for the cardioprotective effects, potentially benefiting other age-related conditions as well. However, further randomized trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Written by urgent.news from MedPage Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
