COVID-19 vaccine does not increase risk of heart attack or stroke in older adults, new study confirms
COVID-19 vaccines are not associated with a heightened risk of adverse cardiovascular events among older adults, according to new research out of France.
The analysis, published in JAMA, examined data from nearly 3.9 million adults 75 years old or older in France who received at least one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and 3.2 million who had received both doses.
Over the study’s observation period, there were more than 11,000 hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), more than 17,000 for ischemic stroke, more than 4,500 for hemorrhagic stroke and more than 7,000 for pulmonary embolism. The authors noted that 58.6%, 54%, 42.7% and 55.3% of those groups, respectively, had received at least one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. In the 14 days following each dose, participants faced “no significant increased risk” of AMI, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke or pulmonary embolism.
“Based on a self-controlled case-series design that compensates for the lack of randomization by eliminating the effect of time-invariant confounding factors, this study provides further evidence regarding the risk of serious cardiovascular adverse events in older people,” wrote Marie Joelle Jabagi, PharmD, PhD, of the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety, and colleagues. “Limitations of the study include the possibility of residual time-dependent confounding.”
Additional studies are still needed that focus on these same risks in younger patients, the group added.
Read the full research letter here.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.