Shingles increase heart attack risk
BEIJING – British researchers have found that people who have shingles are more likely to suffer heart attacks, according to media report Monday.
Researchers studied data on 106,000 patients with shingles and 213,200 matched non-sufferers.
Patient records were reviewed for an average of six years after a shingles diagnosis and in some cases for as long as 24 years.
Based on the findings adjusted for body mass index, smoking, cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and other vascular risk factors, they found that over all, having shingles increased the risk of a heart attack by 10 percent .
The risk of a so-called mini-stroke, or transient ischemic attack, was increased by 15 percent, though it did not alter the risk of having a major stroke.
And for people under 40, an attack of the viral infection leading to the risk of stroke rose by 74 percent and a heart attack by 50 per cent, the study said.
Source: Xinhuanet
Published: 06 Jan 2014
Category: Features, Health alert
