Vaccines recommended for adults may also help protect cardiovascular health, particularly among patients with heart disease, according to recent research and guidance from the American College of Cardiology.
Here are four things to know:
- Shingles: Adults 60 and older who predominantly received the recombinant shingles vaccine had a 9% lower cardiovascular burden over seven years than those who predominantly received the older live vaccine, according to an Oxford study in Nature Medicine. The benefit was largest for ischemic heart disease (10%) and heart failure (12%). The ACC recommends two doses for adults 50 and older, noting that shingles infection is associated with increased risk of stroke and heart attack. Shingles vaccination has also been tied to a 20% lower dementia risk.
- Flu: The ACC recommends an annual flu vaccine for all adults to reduce cardiovascular illness, cardiovascular death and death from any cause and advises against the nasal version for those older than 50. Its 2026 update recommends high-dose vaccine for adults 65 and older, with recombinant or adjuvanted formulations as alternatives. Large randomized trials found fewer hospitalizations for respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease and heart failure with high-dose compared with standard-dose vaccines. People with heart disease face higher risks of adverse outcomes after respiratory infections, the ACC says. Flu activity has had an early start this season.
- COVID-19: The ACC’s 2026 guidance supports COVID-19 vaccination as part of cardiovascular care, citing evidence that vaccination reduces severe infection, hospitalization and death. Previous ACC guidance also cited lower risks of heart attack, COVID-19-related pericarditis and myocarditis, stroke, atrial fibrillation and long COVID symptoms among the potential benefits of vaccination for patients with heart disease.
- RSV: The ACC’s 2026 guidance recommends RSV vaccination for adults 50 and older with cardiovascular disease who have not previously received the vaccine. The vaccine is not currently recommended annually. The guidance cites evidence that patients with heart disease face higher risks of hospitalization and death after RSV infection than the general population.
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