RSV, shingles and your heart

Living with heart disease, diabetes, or COPD means your body may be more vulnerable when common viruses strike.

What might feel like a passing illness for one person can sometimes trigger serious complications for someone with an ongoing condition.

The good news is there are practical ways to lower those risks – vaccination, regular check-ups, and being mindful about exposure to illness all help reduce the risk of complications and support your overall health.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is widespread in Aotearoa, especially during winter. For most people, it’s unpleasant but manageable – coughs, fever, a runny nose. But older adults or those with weakened immune systems can end up with far more serious outcomes.

Research shows that people admitted to hospital with RSV often face acute cardiac events, and the infection may raise the risk of future heart failure. For anyone already living with heart disease, RSV can quickly escalate from a nuisance to a medical emergency.

Vaccination against RSV is now available and offers a useful safeguard for those most at risk.

If you had chickenpox as a child, the virus didn’t disappear – it stayed in your nerve cells, waiting.

Later in life, it can resurface as shingles. Roughly one in three people will experience shingles at some point, with the likelihood climbing as we age or if our immune system is weakened by conditions like heart disease, diabetes, or arthritis.

While some people experience only a mild rash, others face severe pain, eye complications, or postherpetic neuralgia – nerve pain that lingers long after the rash fades.

Emerging studies even suggest shingles might increase the risk of cardiovascular events, raising new questions about its wider impact on heart health.

Viruses may seem routine, but if you have a pre-existing heart condition, they deserve serious attention. If you feel unwell, contacting your healthcare provider early can prevent complications. Pairing that vigilance with regular check-ups and recommended vaccines is a simple but powerful way to protect your long-term health.

In Aotearoa, the Shingrix vaccination is funded at age 65 and given in two doses.

It is recommended (though not funded) from age 50 onwards.

Shingrix is funded for certain immunocompromised individuals aged 18 and older who are at increased risk of shingles.

RSV vaccines, including Arexvy, are available in New Zealand but are not government funded.