By Katie Prater, ONU PharmD Candidate 2025 and Karen L. Kier, Pharmacist
On behalf of ONU Healthwise Pharmacy 

In 1992, Billy Ray Cyrus released his song Achy Breaky Heart. Originally, this song was written by Don Von Tress in 1990 and initially released as Don’t Tell my Heart by the Marcy Brothers in 1991.

Billy’s version of this song talks about protecting his heart from a romantic perspective, but how could this apply to the overall health of our heart? Many of us do not want any type of ‘achy breaky heart,’ whether it be from heart break or illness. So what can you do to help protect your heart health?

We often hear all about the things that can negatively impact our heart health, but what can we do to help protect our heart? Recent research has found the shingles vaccine may help. 

Many diseases can impact our heart health and research is showing shingles may be one that does. Shingles occurs when the virus causing chickenpox reactivates in the body, causing a painful rash along a nerve. Commonly the rash presents around the side of the body and can potentially lead to serious complications like long-term nerve pain. The CDC reports that there is an estimated 1 million people who experience shingles every year in the United States. Although shingles can occur more than one time, it is often only experienced one time by most individuals. 

So now you may ask, if I have never had chickenpox, do I still need the shingles vaccine?

Even if you have never had the chickenpox and/or did not receive the chickenpox vaccine as a child, you can still contract the virus that leads to shingles by coming into contact with someone who does have the virus. As we age, the risk of developing shingles increases. Medical conditions may play a factor in development along with medications known to suppress the immune system. 

According to the CDC, it is recommended that any individual older than or equal to 50 years of age should receive 2 doses of the shingles vaccine, known as Shingrix. Individuals 19 years and older may receive the vaccine if they have a weakened immune system. Research has shown the vaccine is 97% effective in preventing shingles in those 50-69 years old and 91% effective in individuals over 70 years of age. This prevention of developing shingles can lead to further complications that may develop secondary to the virus. 

A 2022 study published by the Journal of the American Heart Association has reported there is an association between shingles and an increased risk of cardiovascular events, or events related to the heart. This study included 205,030 participants and found those who had the shingles virus had a 30% increased risk of developing a future heart-related event. These same individuals also had a 38% greater risk of having a stroke while having a 25% risk of having a heart attack or needing some kind of heart-related surgery. This means for any group of 4 individuals, 1 of you is likely to have either a heart attack or require some kind of surgery after contracting the shingles virus. 

Research has shown the shingles vaccine is effective in preventing heart-related complications as it helps decrease your risk of developing shingles. 

If you are interested in more information related to shingles, the vaccine, or other health related information please contact ONU HealthWise Pharmacy at 419-722-3784

ONU HealthWise offers the shingles vaccine along with flu, COVID-19 and other vaccinations.  Vaccine clinics will continue through the middle of December on weekdays from 2:00-6:00 p.m.

The pharmacy is open 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 2:00-6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. on Saturdays.