Covid-19 vaccination safe for patients with previous myocarditis

Covid-19 vaccinations are safe for patients who have previously had myocarditis (an inflamed heart muscle), according to a small study.

The researchers say that some patients who have had myocarditis have avoided getting vaccinated against Covid, as they were afraid it could cause another bout of the condition.

This is because rare cases of myocarditis following Covid vaccination have been reported in literature with a prevalence of 2.1 cases for every 100,000 people.

Some patients with previous myocarditis have avoided getting vaccinated

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle, which can reduce the heart’s ability to pump and can also cause arrhythmias and symptoms such as fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath, and rapid heartbeats.

To test whether the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is associated with a recurrence of the condition or other serious side effects, the researchers enrolled 142 patients with a prior history of confirmed acute myocarditis.

The average age of the participants was 31 years old and 20.3% were women. Among them, vaccination status was known for 71 patients, with 55 vaccinated and 16 unvaccinated. The main reason for not getting the vaccine was fear of myocarditis recurrence.

No serious adverse events occurred following vaccination

The researchers also obtained information about side effects following vaccination, including serious events such as death, arrhythmias, and recurrent myocarditis.

They found that there were no serious adverse events after Covid-19 vaccination. The researchers say these findings should therefore prove “reassuring” for patients with a history of myocarditis, and could potentially boost vaccine uptake.

However, Since the majority of patients in the study received BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine, study author Dr. Iyad Abou Saleh of Hospices Civils de Lyon, France, warns the “findings may not apply to other vaccines.”

Dr. Abou Saleh therefore advises caution when interpreting the data due to the “small number of patients” and the “predominant use of one type of vaccine.”