A recent observational study has provided reassuring evidence that COVID-19 vaccines, specifically Covishield and Covaxin used in India, are not associated with an increased risk of heart attacks. The study highlights the protective effect of these vaccines and their impact on mortality following acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or heart attacks.
“Our study found that vaccines used in India are safe. There was no association of vaccination in India with heart attack. In fact, the study found that there were less chances of death after heart attack in vaccinated individuals,” Mohit Gupta, who led the study, from G B Pant Hospital, told PTI.
Key findings of the study are as follows:
- No Association with Heart Attacks: The study found no significant association between receiving COVID-19 vaccines and an increased risk of heart attacks. This dispels concerns about a potential link between the vaccines and cardiovascular adverse effects.
- Retrospective Study: The research was conducted as a retrospective study, analyzing data from 1,578 individuals admitted to G B Pant Hospital in Delhi between August 2021 and August 2022. Of these, 1,086 (68.8%) had received COVID-19 vaccination, while 492 (31.2%) were unvaccinated. Among the vaccinated group, the majority had received two vaccine doses.
- Mild Vaccine Adverse Effects: The study noted that adverse effects (AEs) of COVID-19 vaccines in the vaccinated group were mostly mild, transient, and self-limiting. While concerns had been raised about potential cardiovascular adverse effects of these vaccines, the study did not find a specific clustering of heart attacks after vaccination.
- Lower Mortality Rates: The vaccinated group showed lower all-cause mortality rates on both 30-day and six-month follow-ups compared to the unvaccinated group following AMI. This suggests that COVID-19 vaccines contributed to a reduction in overall mortality among AMI patients.
- Risk Factors: The study also identified that increasing age, diabetes, and smoking were associated with a higher risk of 30-day mortality. These factors played a more significant role in mortality risk than COVID-19 vaccination.
“Findings of our study showed that the 30-day and six months all-cause mortality risk was significantly lower in the vaccinated subjects as compared to the unvaccinated population,” the authors of the study said.
The authors of the study emphasize that this research is the first of its kind to be conducted among a larger population of AMI patients, demonstrating that COVID-19 vaccines are not only safe but also have a protective effect in reducing all-cause mortality, both in the short term and at six months of follow-up.
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