‘No link between Covid jab & cardiac arrests’

New Delhi: A panel of senior doctors at AIIMS, New Delhi, on Wednesday refuted claims that COVID-19 vaccines are causing a spike in heart attack cases, especially among the youth. Citing a joint study by AIIMS and the Indian Council

of Medical Research (ICMR), they clarified that sudden deaths, often attributed to heart attacks, were being misinterpreted and exaggerated.

Speaking at a press conference, Dr. Sanjay Rai from AIIMS’ Community Medicine department said the ICMR-AIIMS case-control study showed no significant increase in heart attacks following COVID-19 vaccination.

Dr. S. Narang, senior cardiologist at AIIMS, clarified: “In older adults, heart attacks typically occur due to blocked arteries caused by plaque rupture and clot formation, which cuts off blood supply to the heart. In younger people, sudden cardiac events are often linked to rhythm disorders or structural heart defects.” He added that post-COVID health awareness and social media have made such incidents seem more common than before.

“Deaths were happening earlier too, but now they’re more talked about,” he said, stressing that lifestyle factors like smoking, obesity, diabetes, and stress remain the leading causes of heart disease. Dr. Sudheer, from the pathology department and part of the AIIMS-ICMR study, emphasized that the ongoing one-year prospective study of sudden deaths has shown that less than 2 per cent had any direct heart-related issue post-vaccination.He also clarified that the term “heart attack” is loosely used by the general public to describe all sudden deaths, even though the actual causes vary significantly.

Dr. Sanjay Rai addressed concerns about the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, saying all clinical phases were completed, but conducted in parallel to save time without compromising safety. He dismissed claims that the vaccines are less effective than traditional ones. Dr. Tulika Seth from the haematology department supported this, stating, “The way vaccination was rolled out at scale was commendable, and our study should reduce doubts and panic.”

The Panel noted that the study does mention some post-COVID complications, which can vary from person to person. However, when asked specifically what kind of complications were observed, Dr. Sanjay Rai responded, “The study has not been published yet, so we should not reveal those details at this stage.”