Myocarditis: COVID-19 is a much bigger risk to the heart than vaccination - The Conversation CA

Perhaps the most common point of conflict concerning COVID-19 vaccines is the risk of myocarditis following immunization, particularly among young people.

In some cases, the levels of cytokines rise to unusually high levels to produce a “cytokine storm” that causes damage to heart muscle.

Before COVID-19 the incidence of myocarditis was between one and 10 cases per 100,000 people per year.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of myocarditis after infection with COVID-19 is much higher, at 146 cases per 100,000.

Myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination is rare and the risk is much smaller than the risks of cardiac injury linked to COVID-19 itself.

Based on a study out of Israel, the risk of post-vaccine myocarditis is 2.13 cases per 100,000 vaccinated, which is within the range usually seen in the general population.

However, if considering the other ill effects of infection with SARS-CoV-2 — both cardiac and not — there was still a strong benefit in immunizing younger people with COVID-19 vaccines other than Moderna, which research suggests has a higher risk for myocarditis than Pfizer’s vaccine.

Over 80 per cent of myocarditis cases not related to COVID-19 or COVID-19 vaccination resolve spontaneously, while five per cent of patients die or require a heart transplant within one year of diagnosis.

Adults who develop myocarditis from COVID-19 have poorer outcomes than non-COVID-19 cases, including a higher risk of death.

It should be noted that myocarditis associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection is just one of several heart conditions linked to COVID-19 with outcomes that are worse than non-COVID-19 cases.

In cases of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, the vast majority of cases are mild and resolve quickly.