In a study published earlier this month investigators found that people who have had shingles are at a 30% higher risk of having a stroke. And that risk is about 4-fold higher if the shingles outbreak involves the eye, a condition called herpes zoster ophthalmicus.
It's hypothesized that the way the varicella zoster virus (VZV) can cause a stroke is by spreading along nerve fibers in the brain to the blood vessels where it causes inflammation and increases the risk of blood clotting.
This study raises many questions about how to prevent stroke in people who've had shingles. It's not known if aggressively treating other risk factors for stroke like high blood pressure and high cholesterol helps reduce this risk.
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