Shingles elevates the risk of stroke: Study

According to the scientists the risk of having a stroke can be increased by almost a third through contracting shingles. In addition, the risk is nearly 31 percent higher if the infection caused by the chickenpox virus involves the eyes.

Dr. Jiunn-Horng Kang, a principal investigator in the Neuroscience Research Center of Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taiwan stated, “Many studies have shown that people with herpes zoster infection are more likely to develop stroke. But ours is the first to demonstrate the actual risk of stroke following herpes zoster infection.”

The researchers used the Taiwan National Health Research Institute’s database to examine 7,760 adults treated for shingles between 1997 and 2001.

These patients were then compared with 23,000 people who formed the control group. This group had not been diagnosed with the shingles infection.

Incidence of stroke estimated
The scientists noted that in the year following the treatment, 439 patients (1.41 percent) suffered strokes. Of these, 133 strokes were among patients with shingles (1.71 percent) and 306 occurred in the control group (1.31 percent).

The research also found that the risk of having a stroke after contracting shingles was 4.8 times higher if the infection involved the eye or the skin around it.

The analysis also revealed that the risk of ischemic strokes in shingle patients was 31 percent higher when compared to those without the ailment.

In addition, shingles increased the risk of hemorrhagic (bleeding) by 2.79 times.

Link between shingles and stroke ambiguous
The link between shingles and the incidence of stroke is unclear. The researchers believe that stroke may be triggered by the blood vessel damage after a shingles attacks.

Besides, the stress, pain and inflammation of the outbreaks could have a hand in the higher risk of stroke.

Kang stated, “Herpes zoster infection 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."

American Stroke Association spokesman Dr Daniel Lackland, professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, declared, "This research needs to be confirmed, but it may be that shingles patients with risk factors for stroke need more aggressive monitoring and treatment than the average patient."

The findings were published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

More about shingles
Shingles (or Herpes zoster) is a reactivation of a childhood chicken pox infection during adulthood. Shingles is more common in people with weakened immune systems.

The first sign of a shingles rash is a burning or tingling pain or an itch. It appears in rows following the path of certain nerves on one side of the body - generally on the trunk, buttocks, neck, face or scalp - and usually stops abruptly at the midline.

Normally, once the rash fades, the area stops hurting and there is full recovery. However, in some patients the zoster attacks can be severe with the persistent pain lasting for months and even years after the rash has gone away.