According to a recent study in the United States, after infection with the herpes zoster virus, the risk of stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) increases, which persists for 3 months after infection.

The cohort study, which was conducted from January 1, 1986 to October 1, 2011, compared the incidence of stroke and myocardial infarction in 4862 adults aged 50 and over living in Olmsted, Minnesota, USA), having and not having shingles. The control group was made up of 19,433 inhabitants, corresponding to the age and sex of the cohort studied, but without a history of shingles. The relative risk of MI and stroke was assessed 3, 6, 12 and 36 months after herpes zoster; in addition, a risk ratio (up to 28.6 years) has been calculated to assess the long-term risk.

Although obesity and a history of smoking were excluded from the possible predictors of the evaluated outcomes due to insufficiently documented data, the researchers corrected the risk analysis for stroke based on factors identified by the US Department of Health and Human Services in 2010, including hypertension, dyslipidemia and heart disease. arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, diabetes mellitus, depression and COPD.

It has been found that patients who have had herpes zoster have a higher risk of development, or factors that contribute to the onset of MI and stroke, indicating that in general, their health is worse. When correcting for possible interference factors, it was found that patients with shingles had an increased risk of stroke 3 months after infection compared to people who did not have shingles ( odds ratio 1.53, 95% CI 1.1-2, 33, p = 0.04). During the first week after the diagnosis of shingles, the risk of developing a stroke increased by more than 2 times (odds ratio 2.37, 95% CI 2.17-2.59), and the risk of myocardial infarction increased 1.7-fold (odds ratio 1,688, 95% CI 1.47-1.92).

The relationship between herpes zoster and myocardial infarction was not as evident 3 months after infection. As for the most distant period, it turned out that neither the frequency of myocardial infarction nor the frequency of stroke increases 3 months after the shingles transferred.

Thus, this study has shown that infection with Varicella zoster only increases the risk of stroke in the next 3 months. This complication can be avoided if the appearance of herpes zoster is avoided, i.e. vaccinating a vulnerable category of patients.