Getting the shingles vaccine can be an insurance policy for better health among people who develop heart disease, a new study says.

Heart disease patients who got a shingles jab have nearly half the rate of heart attacks, strokes and other serious heart emergencies than those who weren’t vaccinated, researchers will report at an upcoming meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC).

In fact, the level of protection that heart disease patients gain from the shingles vaccine is on par with the health boost from quitting smoking, noted lead researcher Dr. Robert Nguyen, a resident physician at the University of California-Riverside.

“This vaccine has been found over and over again to have cardioprotective effects for reducing heart attack, stroke and death,” he said in a news release.

“Looking at the highest risk population, those with existing cardiovascular disease, these protective effects might be even greater than among the general public,” Nguyen said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the shingles vaccine for all adults 50 and older, and for younger adults with weakened immune systems, researchers said.

Shingles occurs when the virus that causes chickenpox becomes reactivated in the body, researchers said in background notes. 

The virus can lie dormant for decades after a bout with chickenpox, only to re-emerge when a person’s immune system weakens.

Previous studies have suggested that shingles can cause blood clots to form around the brain and heart, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.  

By protecting against shingles, the vaccine is thought to also protect against these clots.

For the new study, researchers analyzed data on nearly 247,000 U.S. adults with heart disease caused by clogged arteries. Half had gotten the shingles vaccine and half had not.

Results showed that vaccinated heart disease patients were 46% less likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or other cardiac emergency within a year of getting the vaccine. They also had a 66% overall lower risk of death from any cause.

Looking more closely at individual conditions, people vaccinated against shingles had a 32% lower risk of heart attack and a 25% lower risk of either stroke or heart failure.

“Vaccines are one of the most important medicines we have to prevent disease,” Nguyen said. “Sometimes patients are unsure about whether they should get a vaccine or not, particularly in an age of disinformation. These results provide another reason for them to elect to get the vaccine.”

More study is needed to verify the long-term benefits of shingles vaccination, researchers said. Previous studies have suggested its heart-protective effects might last for up to eight years.

Researchers are scheduled to present their findings March 30 during the ACC annual meeting in New Orleans.

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.