Study shows shingles increases the risk of stroke by over 30 percent

October 22, 11:22 AMIndianapolis Healthy Living ExaminerAmanda C. Strosahl

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A stroke occurs when the brain is suddenly damaged
due to a disturbance in the blood supply.
(photo: Miranda Knox)

A recent study shows adults with shingles are over 30% more likely to experience a stroke during the first year following the infection. The risk was even greater if the shingles outbreak occurred around the eyes. 

The study involved 7,760 patients 18 years and older who had been treated for shingles. The control group was made up of 23,280 adults of with similar circumstances, except they did not have shingles. By the end of the one year, 133 of the shingles patients (1.7%) had inexperienced a stroke. During that same period, 306 of the control subjects (1.3%) also had strokes. After analyzing all data, the researches discovered:

• People who had shingles were 31% more likely to have a stroke than the people who had not had shingles.
• People who had a shingles infection that involved the eye or the area around the eye were 4.28 times more likely to have a stroke than those who had not had shingles.
• Having shingles increased the risk of an ischemic stroke by 31%. An ischemic stroke is caused by a blockage in an artery creating a disturbance in the blood flowing to the brain. This type of stroke accounts for 87% of the strokes experienced in the United States.
• A hemorrhagic stroke was 2.79 times more likely in people who had shingles than in those who did not have shingles. A hemorrhagic stroke is due to bleeding in the brain itself.

“Herpes zoster infection [shingles] is very easy to diagnose, and antiviral medication can be used to treat the infection in the early stages. While the mechanism by which shingles increases stroke risk remains unclear, the possibility of developing a stroke after a shingles attack should not be overlooked," said Jiunn-Horng Kang, M.D., M.Sc., lead author of the study and attending physician in the Department of Physical Medicine.

“Doctors and patients must pay extra attention to controlling other risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes,” warned Dr. Kang.

   For more info: For more information on shingles, see the attached slideshow.

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