Shingles may increase stroke risk
Risk increased by a third
People with shingles are 31% more likely to have a stroke within a year of developing the condition, new research has found.
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV). It is the same virus that causes chickenpox.
When someone has had a bout of chickenpox, usually as a child, the virus remains hidden in the body. Sometimes it reappears again causing shingles.
In the UK, more than 250,000 people each year develop shingles. It is most common in people over the age of 50.
In the study, Taiwanese scientists looked at the rate of strokes in 7,760 patients who had been treated for shingles and in 23,280 adults without the condition.
The results, published in The Journal of the American Heart Association, showed that people treated for shingles were 31% more likely to have a stroke, when compared with patients without the infection.
In addition, people with shingles infection involving the eye or skin around the eye, were four times more likely to have a stroke than those without shingles.
Although the study was not designed to investigate why having shingles increased your risk, past research has shown that the VZV virus can attack the walls of blood vessels in the body causing damage and inflammation.
This in turn can cause the blood vessel to narrow or close up, blocking blood flow to the brain. The shingles virus is the only one known which can invade the cerebral arteries which carry oxygen rich blood to the brain, the scientists said.
Dr. Jiunn-Horng Kang from Taipei Medical University Hospital, who led the study, said that doctors should be aware of the risk of stroke in patients with shingles:
“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.
Doctors and patients must pay extra attention to controlling other risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes.”
This article was published on Mon 12 October 2009
People with shingles are 31% more likely to have a stroke within a year of developing the condition, new research has found.
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV). It is the same virus that causes chickenpox.
When someone has had a bout of chickenpox, usually as a child, the virus remains hidden in the body. Sometimes it reappears again causing shingles.
In the UK, more than 250,000 people each year develop shingles. It is most common in people over the age of 50.
In the study, Taiwanese scientists looked at the rate of strokes in 7,760 patients who had been treated for shingles and in 23,280 adults without the condition.
The results, published in The Journal of the American Heart Association, showed that people treated for shingles were 31% more likely to have a stroke, when compared with patients without the infection.
In addition, people with shingles infection involving the eye or skin around the eye, were four times more likely to have a stroke than those without shingles.
Although the study was not designed to investigate why having shingles increased your risk, past research has shown that the VZV virus can attack the walls of blood vessels in the body causing damage and inflammation.
This in turn can cause the blood vessel to narrow or close up, blocking blood flow to the brain. The shingles virus is the only one known which can invade the cerebral arteries which carry oxygen rich blood to the brain, the scientists said.
Dr. Jiunn-Horng Kang from Taipei Medical University Hospital, who led the study, said that doctors should be aware of the risk of stroke in patients with shingles:
“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.
Doctors and patients must pay extra attention to controlling other risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes.”
This article was published on Mon 12 October 2009
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