According to a study with 2,392,924 participants, acute myocarditis is an extremely rare side effect of the COVID vaccine – at 0.0006% likelihood
The COVID pandemic continues globally. The virus can continue to claim lives in unvaccinated populations.
Currently, there are hundreds of unsubstantiated side effects to the vaccine that can really change the trajectory of a person’s decision. Scientists continue to forge ahead and tackle these anecdotes, to highlight what health realities are really happening out there.
The study looked at new anecdotes about heart inflammation happening to some people in the US after taking the COVID vaccine.
Firstly, what is myocarditis?
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle. The inflammation can reduce the heart’s ability to pump and cause rapid or abnormal heart rhythms.
Symptoms include:
- Chest pain
- Rapid or abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmias)
- Shortness of breath, at rest or during activity
- Fluid build-up with swelling of your legs, ankles and feet
- Fatigue
- Other signs and symptoms of a viral infection such as a headache, body aches, joint pain, fever, a sore throat or diarrhoea
Sometimes, myocarditis symptoms may be similar to a heart attack. If you are having unexplained chest pain and shortness of breath, access emergency help.
5.8 cases of heart inflammation
The study, containing 2,392,924 individuals, found that there were 5.8 cases of acute myocarditis in those who received mRNA COVID vaccines – amounting to a likelihood of 0.00054%.
Everyone who experienced heart inflammation was a man, aged between 20 to 32 years old. Because of this pattern, the team believe that increased myocarditis in young men needs further investigation.
The study further found that of all vaccinated patients with myocarditis, none previously had cardiac disease. Around 14 of these people reported chest pain, between one to five days after vaccination.
However, happily, no patient required intensive care admission.
The authors said: “No relationship between COVID-19 mRNA vaccination and postvaccination myocarditis can been established given the observational nature of this study.”
