Heart issues more common after Covid infection than vaccination, new CDC study confirms

Heart issues more common after Covid infection than vaccination, CDC reports A new analysis of the rates of myocarditis in young males may be reassuring to those reluctant to get their teenage boys vaccinated. NBC News

Compared to vaccination, Covid-19 itself is far more likely to lead to heart problems in teenage boys and young men, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

The study is the first to compare directly the odds of a type of heart inflammation called myocarditis following an infection versus vaccination — providing a clearer understanding of the real risk for heart problems and perhaps offering comfort to parents and young men who have had questions about the risks and benefits of the vaccine.

Myocarditis has long been linked to a variety of viruses, including influenza and coxsackieviruses. The condition was identified as a potential side effect of mRNA Covid vaccines in young people last summer.

At that time, the CDC found that myocarditis cases were more than double what would normally be expected among males in their teens and early 20s who had been vaccinated. While both the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been linked to the problem, Pfizer's shot is the only one authorized for people under age 18.

Most cases of vaccine-related myocarditis got better without any lasting issues, but the reports left many parents concerned, wondering whether the potential heart risks from Covid vaccines in young men are greater than their benefit.

The new data, doctors say, answer that question with a resounding no. It confirms what pediatric cardiologists have long noted in their patients: Heart problems are far more likely to occur as a result of Covid than after the vaccines. ...

In the study, researchers analyzed electronic health records of more than 15 million people in 40 health care systems nationwide, collected from January 2021 through the end of January 2022, looking for evidence of heart inflammation or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. MIS-C causes inflammation around several organs, including the heart.

Overall, heart problems related to either the infection or the vaccines were rare. ...