False: People are dropping dead of heart attacks because of COVID-19 vaccines.

By: Devika Kandelwal
December 14 2021

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There is no evidence that vaccinated people are at a higher risk of heart problems or are more susceptible to heart attacks. In a video widely shared on Facebook and other social media, conspiracy theorist Vernon Coleman claims that “the jabbed will be lucky to last five years.” Coleman bases his theory on the claim that COVID-19 vaccines are causing long-term heart conditions, leading to the vaccinated dying in the next few years of heart problems. Vernon claims that in late 2020, almost a year ago, evidence surfaced that COVID-19 vaccines cause heart strokes, neurological problems, myocarditis, and pericarditis and says that these adverse events are not rare or uncommon. However, that is not true. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found through “real-world monitoring that vaccines are safe for young children. Crucially, the CDC hasn't identified any concerns with the temporary heart inflammation known as myocarditis, a potential side effect of mRNA vaccines seen in rare circumstances in teenagers and young adults.” Furthermore,myocarditis and pericarditis are rare after a COVID-19 vaccine and are usually mild or stable, and most patients typically recover fully without medical treatment. Researchers have also found that myocarditis is actually more common after getting infected with COVID-19. According to the study, it is six times more likely to occur after a coronavirus infection than after vaccination. Based on his research and investigations, Coleman further adds, “most of the jabbed will be lucky to last five years.” However, there is no evidence of this claim. He says that COVID-19 vaccines damage the heart, which he claims is because athletes and children are “collapsing” around us because of the vaccine. We have fact checked these claims and have found that injuries sustained by sportsmen and children have nothing to do with the COVID-19 vaccine. Incidences of athletes suddenly collapsing are not new. In 2018, research found that “Diseases that are associated with sudden cardiac death were identified in 0.38% of adolescent soccer players in a cohort that underwent cardiovascular screening. The incidence of sudden cardiac death was 1 per 14,794 person-years, or 6.8 per 100,000 athletes; most of these deaths were due to cardiomyopathies that had not been detected on screening.” The FIFA-SDR database shows no evidence that this year differs from previous years concerning sudden death in athletes. Furthermore, several headlines related to children dying are not related to COVID-19 vaccines, and some are not even from 2021. A family in Suffolk said that they are horrified by the fact that their daughter’s death is being used as an anti-vaccine story. Coleman also says that heart damage will be a permanent problem for those vaccinated. He further claims that heart problems will affect people who exercise, like people who do gardening or work out, and we’ll see those who exercise either get heart attacks or drop dead. He also says that recent news says that vaccinated people who go to the gym are more likely to get strokes or heart attacks. None of his claims are true and can be backed by medical research. On the contrary, it is reported that there are no risks associated with exercising after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. When it comes to COVID-19 infections and physical activity, regular exercise is associated with better health outcomes. A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that ​​”Consistently meeting physical activity guidelines was strongly associated with a reduced risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes among infected adults.” Coleman is not the first one to spread this misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a London-based cardiologist and author of the 'The 21-day Immunity Plan', says that a recent paper shows that the mRNA vaccine can markedly increase the risk of heart disease. His comments are based on a recently published abstract from American Heart Association's (AHA) journal Circulation. However, the paper is not a published paper at all - it’s an abstract that has not had peer review. This abstract has no published data, no references, and several spelling errors. The AHA published an Expression of Concern on the abstract, telling readers the study was “not reliable.” The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.