心脏病专家权衡感染Covid和接种疫苗对心脏病的风险

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专家们发现三年来新冠病人，尤其是25-44岁年轻人患心脏病的风险较高。​

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2月7日发表在自然医学上的文章指出，即使是感染后症状轻微，也会增加心脏病的风险。但是有些人认为疫苗引起的心脏病风险更大。​

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关于疫苗的各种不实信息​

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二月法国发表的一张支气管血栓严重堵塞的照片，经过反向搜索发现，这张照片与COVID 无关，也与疫苗无关，它来自于多年前的病例。佛罗里达州一位医生给CDC的信中例举了很多疫苗导致的心脏病增加的数据，渥太华大学的，Peter Liu教授审查了这封信中的数据，认为没有确切数值，只有百分比，无法说明他所得出的结论。​

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COVID 与疫苗相比​

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刘教授的团队研究了加拿大，美国和英国的心脏病案例，12-39岁人群接种疫苗后，心脏病增加了2-3倍，12-29岁人群增加了5倍，原因不明，但是基本全部治愈，没有死亡。加拿大接种的9700万剂疫苗中，有10582例严重不良反应，相当于0.01%，总体风险极低。​

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多伦多大学心脏病专家Chris Overgaard 博士同意刘教授的观点，疫苗的并不完美，但是它达到了我们所期望的，疫苗的收益大于风险。COVID 导致的心脏病风险大于疫苗。​

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Cardiologists weigh in on whether COVID-19 or vaccines pose a greater risk of heart problems​

Nearly three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing body of research is showing links between COVID-19 and heart-related problems, particularly in young people.

One study published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine on Feb. 7 found that rates of conditions such as heart failure and stroke were substantially higher in people who had recovered from COVID-19 than those who had never contracted the virus. Even people who had experienced a mild case of COVID-19 were at risk, the study found.

In September last year, a study led by Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles found that while the virus was associated with an increase in heart attacks in all age groups, those between the ages of 25 and 44 saw the highest increase. Heart attack rates in this age group increased 29.9 per cent, compared to 19.6 per cent for those aged 45 to 64 and 13.7 per cent for those aged 65 and over.

Labos explained the risk of developing any of a "broad constellation of (cardiac) symptoms" following a COVID-19 infection varies from one age bracket to another.

"With the older individuals, you're seeing more heart attack and more traditional coronary artery disease," he said. "But with younger individuals, you're also seeing more arrhythmias, more difficulty with exercise capacity."

Scientists are still learning about how COVID-19 affects the heart, but Labos explained many of the cardiac complications related to COVID-19 infections tend to fall into the categories of heart attacks and issues with the heart's electrical impulses.

"So there's more clots and more heart attacks. But there also appears to be a derangement of the electrical system. And a lot of people complain of arrhythmias, palpitations, and just an inability to sort of regulate their heart rate," he told CTV News Channel on Feb. 22.

Despite mounting evidence that even mild COVID-19 cases can damage the cardiovascular system, some people continue to argue that COVID-19 vaccines pose a greater health risk.

Nearly three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing body of research is showing links between COVID-19 and heart-related problems, particularly in young people.

One study published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine on Feb. 7 found that rates of conditions such as heart failure and stroke were substantially higher in people who had recovered from COVID-19 than those who had never contracted the virus. Even people who had experienced a mild case of COVID-19 were at risk, the study found.

VACCINE MISINFORMATION​

Earlier this month, European news outlet AFP debunked a rumour that a photo circulating online showed a massive bronchial blood clot caused by COVID-19 vaccine. While the photo did show a blood clot in the shape of a patient's right bronchial tree, a reverse image search conducted by AFP found it pre-dated the pandemic and was completely unrelated to vaccines.

Then, there's the Feb. 15 letter addressed by Florida's surgeon general to the commioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In an official Florida Department of Health document, the state's surgeon general Joseph Ladapo wrote to federal officials stating Florida had recorded a significant surge in adverse health effects related to COVID-19 vaccinations.


"We saw a 1,700 per cent increase in reports after the release of the COVID-I9 vaccine, compared to an increase of 400 per cent in vaccine administration for the same period," Ladapo wrote, though he did not say during which period the reporting took place. "The reporting of life-threatening conditions increased (by) 4,400 per cent."

Lapado also cited a "recent study" that found mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were associated with an "excess risk of serious adverse events," including blood clotting disorders, acute cardiac injuries, Bell's palsy and encephalitis. He said the "risk was 1 in 550" but did not say which specific risk the number referred to.

Dr. Peter Liu, chief scientific officer and vice president of research at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, reviewed the letter and, in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca on Thursday, said he couldn't track down any credible evidence to support many of the claims it made.

He pointed out that the letter outlines the increase in reports of vaccine-related adverse effects in percentages only, leaving out the absolute numbers and any explanation of how those percentages were calculated.

"The interpretation of all this information gets coloured, unfortunately, and this generates a lot of misinformation," he said. "A letter like this, which actually is not backed up by published data – making all these kind of percentage depictions of the data, and making a conclusion that is very difficult to verify – can lead to a lot of concerned people."

VACCINES VS. COVID-19​

While it's true that some COVID-19 mRNA vaccines have been linked to myocarditis in rare cases -- a potentially deadly inflammation of the heart muscle -- studies have shown that the benefits of the vaccine still outweigh the risk of inflammation, and getting the virus has a far higher risk of inflammation compared to the vaccine.

That is also Liu's professional opinion. Liu has studied data from Canada's Vaccine Injury Support Program as well as data from vaccine adverse effects studies conducted in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.. He is also part of a team following the long-term outcomes of 200 patients who reported cardiac symptoms following vaccination. Among the patients in that group who suffered from myocarditis following vaccination, he said almost all have recovered and none have died from the condition.

"From what we have published and from what we have studied, certainly, we have seen these cases, you know, relate to cardiac complications, but they're extremely rare," he said.

In Canada, out of 97 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered since Dec. 14, 2020, there have been 10,582 serious adverse events reported. That is a rate of approximately 0.01 per cent. This data is made publicly available by the Government of Canada, including a breakdown of serious adverse events.

"So the general risk is extremely low," Liu said.

Liu said there is evidence that rates of myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination are about two to three times higher among men between the ages of 12 and 39 compared to the general population.

"This is a very interesting kind of subgroup that seem to have a higher incidence, which is about two to three times higher risk compared to the general population, and this probably has to do with how the young men's immune system handles the vaccine," he said.

However, he said, even among men between 12 and 29, the risk of developing myocarditis following a COVID-19 infection is higher – up to five times higher.

Given everything scientists and cardiologists have learned during the pandemic, Dr. Chris Overgaard, a fellow in the division of cardiology at the University of Toronto, agrees with Liu that the balance of benefit versus risk still resides with the vaccine.

"I think it's disingenuous to say that vaccines are perfect, right? They're not," Overgaard told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Feb. 23. "But they have done what we hoped they would do, and they have done it very well…so the risks of severe cardiac illness with COVID-19 are far greater than the risks of the vaccine."

Cardiologists weigh in on whether COVID-19 or vaccines pose a greater risk of heart problems

A growing body of research is showing links between COVID-19 and heart-related problems, particularly in young people. Despite misinformation that claims otherwise, cardiologists still say the virus poses a greater risk of cardiac issues than the vaccine.

www.ctvnews.ca