Fully vaccinated are at reduced risk of acute myocardial infarction (MI) and ischaemic stroke from Covid, Korean researchers have found.
Studies have suggested an increased incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and ischaemic stroke after Covid infection. However, the new report from Korea has found a reduction in heart attacks and strokes among fully vaccinated people.
The findings have shown that cardiovascular events were significantly reduced in the 31 to 120 days after Covid infection for the fully vaccinated compared with the unvaccinated.
Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are effective against COVID-19 and its progression to severe disease, but it has been unclear if they could prevent secondary complications.
“The findings support vaccination, especially for those with risk factors for cardiovascular diseases,” Jaehun Jung, MD, PhD, of Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea, said in a research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
In Korea COVID-19 reporting is mandated and universal health care coverage is in place. The scientists looked at data from the nationwide Covid registry and the Korean National Health Insurance Service database.
Eligible patients were unvaccinated and fully vaccinated adults diagnosed with the virus from July 2020 to December 2021.
The research group has highlighted that the study may be subject to limitations due to its reliance on diagnostic codes, which may be subject to inaccuracies.
Analysis has shown that people who had Covid are more likely to have a stroke than people with influenza and other respiratory tract infections, as the virus can cause blood clotting.
Although, there are treatments that can stop the blood from clotting and break up blood clots to stop damage to the brain caused by stroke, the Stroke Association says that more research is needed to understand if such treatments could help Covid patients at risk of stroke.
