When you get vaccinated against infections like the flu or covid, you’re probably thinking about lowering your chances of getting sick. But research suggests certain routine vaccines may have another health benefit: protecting your heart.
“We’re beginning to understand the large number of problems these viruses can cause beyond, say, a cough and fever,” said Paul Heidenreich, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford Medicine.
A study published in August in Nature Medicine adds to the evidence for vaccination’s potential heart-health benefits. Researchers compared adults 60 and older who received the newer shingles vaccine with those who received the older version. People who got the newer shot had lower rates of ischemic heart disease and heart failure during the seven years after vaccination, researchers found.
Although the study can’t prove the shot caused those differences, the groups were essentially the same except for vaccine type. (Earlier research found that people who received the older version also had fewer cardiovascular problems than unvaccinated people.)
These findings support recent recommendations from the European Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology: Both groups published statements emphasizing the key role of adult immunizations, including the shingles vaccine, in protecting cardiovascular health. That’s especially important for people with heart disease, who face a higher risk of hospitalization and death from certain infections — so reducing their chances of developing a severe case or possibly avoiding infection altogether can help prevent those outcomes.
Certain viral infections can put extra strain on your heart as your body fights them off, explained Noreen Nazir, a cardiologist and co-author of the recent American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidance.
And while some of the clearest cardiovascular benefits of vaccination are seen in people who already have heart disease, “there’s potential benefit even to those who don’t yet have heart problems,” said Heidenreich, who also co-wrote the ACC guidance.
Here are four adult immunizations that may help protect your heart — and what to know about each.
Shingles vaccine
About 1 in 3 adults in the United States will develop shingles, and the older you get, the greater your risk. It’s caused by a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Shingles typically produces a painful, itchy rash and can sometimes lead to complications like long-term nerve pain.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends two doses of a vaccine called Shingrix for people 50 and older, as well as adults 19 and older with weakened immune systems due to disease or medical treatment. This recombinant vaccine uses a lab-made protein from the virus rather than the live, weakened virus used in Zostavax, the older shot it was compared with in the Nature Medicine study.
Previous research has also suggested shingles vaccination might have cardiovascular benefits. A 2025 study of adults 50 and older identified an association between two doses of Shingrix and lower risk of stroke and heart attack. But the Nature Medicine study “is a really great addition to the literature,” said Nazir. The shingles vaccine’s potential heart benefits haven’t been studied as extensively as those of other vaccines, she added.
Although it’s not fully understood how, exactly, the shingles vaccine may protect the heart, one possible mechanism is that shingles causes an inflammatory response, explained Eduardo Sanchez, chief medical officer for prevention for the American Heart Association.
That inflammation can rupture plaque, a fatty buildup in arteries that carry blood to the heart or brain, he explained, “leading to heart attacks or strokes.”
Annual flu shot
It’s easy to think of the flu as just another seasonal illness, but it can cause serious complications, including pneumonia. While an annual flu shot is recommended for nearly everyone 6 months and older, the vaccine is especially critical for adults 65 and older, a group at higher risk of complications. (That’s why the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends a high-dose, recombinant or adjuvanted flu vaccine for this age group.)
A yearly flu shot is also essential if you have heart disease or a history of stroke, regardless of your age. If you end up hospitalized and have an underlying high-risk condition like these, “you are much more likely to have a cardiovascular event,” said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and co-author on the ACC paper.
In one study, influenza infection was associated with a sixfold increase in heart attack hospitalizations during the week after a positive flu test. Findings of another 2024 study suggested that influenza accounted for about 3 percent of all deaths and 5 percent of hospitalizations for flu or pneumonia among people with heart failure in Denmark.
Covid shot
Official guidance on who should get a covid booster this year has been confusing. But the Food and Drug Administration has approved the updated covid vaccines, which are designed to better match versions of the virus currently spreading, for adults 65 and older and younger people with at least one underlying health condition that puts them at greater risk for complications.
That includes people with heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathies. Covid boosters for this group are critical, since “we know covid-19 can definitely cause heart damage,” said Heidenreich. Having these conditions also makes you more likely to become seriously ill from covid.
During the covid-19 pandemic, people with heart disease were three times as likely to develop severe infection. Covid has been associated with greater risk of heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias and pericarditis, inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart.
Covid infection may also lead to long-term cardiovascular complications. A 2025 study published in the European Heart Journal found that having covid was associated with early vascular aging, when the arteries become stiffer and less elastic.
“There’s the thought that the virus might actually affect the heart muscle itself,” explained Sanchez. “So one, it’s triggering an inflammatory response, and then in some instances having a direct effect on the heart muscle.”
RSV vaccine
Respiratory syncytial virus, RSV for short, is often thought of as primarily affecting babies and young children. But RSV infection can be serious for older adults, especially those who are frail.
The CDC recommends a single dose for adults 50 to 74 at increased risk of severe RSV illness and for everyone 75 and older. People who have already received an RSV vaccine shouldn’t get another dose at this time.
As with covid and the flu, people with underlying conditions such as heart disease are more likely to experience serious complications from RSV. That’s partly because the infection can worsen existing conditions, including heart failure. One study spanning five RSV seasons found that nearly a quarter of adults 50 and older who were hospitalized with RSV infection experienced an acute cardiac event, often heart failure. Those who did had nearly twice the risk of severe outcomes compared with those who didn’t.
RSV’s effects on cardiovascular health may linger after the illness has passed, as they can with covid and the flu, Schaffner added. “There continues to be a high risk of cardiovascular events even after you recover from these viral infections,” he said.
A common complaint, experts said, is “Well, I got the vaccine, but I still got sick.” Though the shingles vaccine is more than 90 percent effective at preventing shingles in adults 50 and older with healthy immune systems, vaccines for covid, the flu and RSV work best at preventing serious disease, noted Schaffner.
This means you may still develop one of these infections, but it may be a milder case with a lower risk of developing complications, including cardiovascular events. “The vaccine likely helped keep you out of the hospital,” said Schaffner.
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