Can adverse cardiac events of the COVID-19 vaccine exacerbate preexisting diseases?

ABSTRACT

Introduction

SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination can both lead to serious cardiac conditions such as myocarditis, arrhythmia, acute myocardial infarction, and coagulopathy. Further studies are needed to better understand the risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, and to determine the best course of action for individuals with preexisting heart conditions.

Areas covered

The current knowledge and challenges in understanding vaccine-associated heart issues concerning the COVID-19 pandemic are briefly summarized, highlighting similar cardiac conditions caused by either SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination and the potential clinical impacts.

Expert opinion

The short-term risks of severe cardiovascular side effects following COVID-19 vaccination are relatively low. However, further studies are needed to determine whether adverse vaccination events outweigh the long-term benefits in specific groups of individuals. Since cardiac inflammation, blood pressure dysregulation, coagulopathy, acute myocardial infarction, or arrhythmia could be the consequences of either SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination, clinical questions should be asked whether the COVID-19 vaccine worsens the condition in persons with preexisting heart diseases. It is important to carefully assess the potential risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, especially for individuals with preexisting heart conditions, and to continue monitoring and studying the long-term effects of vaccination on cardiovascular health.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• vaccine
• heart
• adverse events
• arrhythmias
• myocarditis

Article highlights

• COVID-19 vaccination could be associated with myocarditis.

• COVID-19 vaccination could be associated with arrhythmia.

• COVID-19 vaccination could be associated with acute myocardial infarction.

• COVID-19 vaccination could be associated with hypertension.

• COVID-19 vaccination could be associated with coagulopathy.

• Exacerbation of cardiac lesions is the likely sequelae of both COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 vaccination.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to express sincere gratitude to Dr. Nuraly Akimbekov for his help drawing the illustrations and to Ms. Mythri Chittilla for providing useful suggestions. Information is collected from online sources, including Google Scholar and ChatGPT.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.