A new study has found that the current shingles vaccine significantly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. Scientists say its use could prevent thousands of deaths each year.

A study based on medical records of 70,000 people in the United States found that people who got the Shingrix vaccine had a 12 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with heart disease over the next three and a half years.

According to scientists, if this result is confirmed, this benefit could be equivalent to taking a daily blood pressure medication.

If these results are confirmed in clinical trials, vaccinating older people with shingles could prevent millions of cases of coronary artery disease, stroke and heart failure worldwide.

According to him, this could be one of the most effective measures to protect the heart and brain of older people and its effects could be huge.

Shingles is a painful and serious illness caused by the reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. The virus remains dormant in the body after chickenpox.

Shingles can cause a rash and nerve pain that can sometimes last for months or years after the rash has gone away. This complication is called postherpetic neuralgia.