New study: Myocarditis from shots does persist long-term

A recent study of people, mostly young, with heart damage following the COVID shots has revealed that a third have yet to recover for over a year and up to a year and a half after their diagnoses.

The study also revealed that a third of those with only a probable myocarditis diagnosis following the shots were confirmed with a definite diagnosis, once an improved imaging method was used, suggesting that the currently reported rates of “vaccine"-induced myocarditis may be understating the true extent of the phenomenon.

Short stay in hospital, long haul after discharge

The study was conducted in Australia using data from the State of Victoria’s adverse events database, and followed 67 people with either a definite or a probable diagnosis of myocarditis following receipt of the shots. 

The study participants ranged in age between 17 and 43 with a mean age of 30. 72% of them were male. Most of the participants had received the Pfizer shots (55); 10 had received Moderna’s shots; and 2 had received AstraZeneca’s product.

All 67 had been hospitalized, generally within five days after the shots; most (70%) after the second shot. (The official guidelines for categorizing myocarditis as “vaccine-induced” require onset of symptoms within two weeks of the shots.) Most of the 67 were in the hospital for one to three days, and three needed intensive care.

Participation in the study entailed undergoing cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging at least 12 months after diagnosis to identify cardiac scar and better assess condition and prognosis. 

LGE is a technique used in cardiac MRI for cardiac tissue characterization, in particular, the assessment of myocardial scar formation and regional myocardial fibrosis.

The median time from the shots was 548 days, with a range from 398 to 603 days. Yet, even after all that time, researchers assessing the data concluded that a third of patients with C-VAM (myocarditis following the shots) still qualified for a myocarditis diagnosis.

Persistent LGE on CMR occurs in one third of patients with C-VAM.

More common and more serious than some would have you believe

With the advantage of CMR imaging, the researchers were also able to increase the accuracy of diagnosis and found that almost a third of those with only a “probable” myocarditis diagnosis did in fact have myocarditis, again, over a year after the shots.

Without CMR at diagnosis, almost one third of patients are misclassified as probable rather than definite myocarditis. [Emphasis added.]

Reporting in the mainstream media on myocarditis has generally highlighted the fact that most people with the diagnosis are discharged from hospital within just a few days (as was true of the participants in this study) and that the disease “is therefore mild.” What this study shows is that this perception is misleading if not false, as over a year and up to two years after the diagnosis, many people still have damaged hearts. In fact, this was already known before this recent study, although little attention has been paid to it.

Although the clinical course of COVID19 vaccine-associated myocarditis is usually benign and self-limiting [that is, hospital stays are short], previous studies evaluating the use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in the acute setting have found imaging abnormalities are common. These findings include late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), which reflects myocardial fibrosis and scarring (seen in up to 90% of cases) and elevated myocardial T2 relaxation time, which is indicative of myocardial oedema (in up to 80% of cases).

“Little is known…” perhaps because few want to know

The researchers noted that their findings corresponded with those in a previous study which followed 40 adolescents and found almost 40% to have persistent heart damage over a year after diagnosis:

A recent study of 12-month follow-up CMR in 40 adolescents with C-VAM found a comparable incidence of persistent LGE to our study, with a rate of 37.5% (seen in 15 out of 40 patients).

They also stressed that myocarditis following the shots occurs mainly in younger people who were previously healthy, making it that much more alarming:

Whilst little is known about the longer-term sequelae of this condition, specifically the impact on cardiac function and its clinical correlation, it is particularly crucial to define as COVID19 vaccine-associated myocarditis is predominantly a disease of the young and healthy. Current evidence is limited to only a few small cohort studies with a relatively short follow up period.

Although the study was small, the researchers noted that it was nonetheless the largest study to date on this area in cardiac health, with the longest follow-up period. They make no comment on the apparent lack of interest of national health agencies in investigating C-VAM.

Prognosis: Take great care, and pray

What does this mean in practice?

The researchers stressed that the long-term implications of their findings are not clear. However, previous studies on regular myocarditis not induced by the shots have shown that sufferers have a worse prognosis if LGE persists for over six months, and that LGE is closely associated with mortality rates:

The long-term clinical implications of LGE in this condition are as yet unknown, but LGE has been demonstrated to confer worse prognosis in non-COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis, especially if it persists beyond six months. Furthermore, a study of 222 patients with biopsy-proven myocarditis identified that LGE on CMR was the strongest predictor of long-term mortality ... This prognostic impact persists at 10-year follow up.

They make no reference to the quality of life of people with myocarditis, but the consequences of such heart damage are often life-altering.

Each year, young adults, children, and athletes of all ages – all otherwise healthy – are unexpectedly diagnosed with myocarditis. This rare disease is characterized by the inflammation of the heart wall and can cause chest pain, an abnormal heartbeat, shortness of breath, and sudden death in those affected.

This quotation is taken from the Myocarditis Foundation, whose website notes that they are “dedicated to ... finding the cure for myocarditis,” adding that “our cardiologists have consistently encouraged patients to take the COVID-19 vaccine...”

Renowned cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough is less circumspect with his language, and has frequently warned of the dangers of myocarditis:

Now as a cardiologist, I can tell you if somebody has myocarditis, we can’t let them play sports because the surge of adrenaline will trigger a cardiac arrest. Our guidelines before COVID said don’t let somebody with myocarditis play sports. So now athletes have taken the vaccine, they’re developing myocarditis, they’re playing sports and for some unfortunate ones, it triggers a cardiac death. This is a straightforward relationship. This is not controversial.

2 per hundred thousand, or 1 per ten thousand?

How many people are potentially affected by this condition? The study makes no clear estimate, merely noting that myocarditis is “rare” with “an incidence of approximately 2 cases per 100,000.” Although their data revealed that many diagnoses are missed or misclassified due to inferior diagnostics, they make no attempt at a more realistic assessment.

However, it is by now widely accepted that C-VAM disproportionately affects young men, and within this age group, the rate is closer to 1 in 10,000 for adolescents, according to at least one study that was published in JAMA Network. Despite acknowledging the disproportionate impact on young men, the researchers do not issue any recommendations for them; in any case, for most it is already too late to avoid the shots.

14 million deaths prevented !(?)

The study concludes with praise for the “vaccines,” although whether this is an insurance policy to give the study its best chance of being published (it was still a pre-print at the time of this writing) or the genuine views of the researchers is unclear.

It must be noted that any discussion surrounding adverse events following immunization requires acknowledgement of the overwhelmingly positive impact of the widespread global vaccination policy against COVID-19, which prevented an estimated 14 million deaths within the first 12 months of distribution. In this same period, a large study of >42 million vaccinated people in the United Kingdom found that the risk of myocarditis associated with COVID-19 infection significantly outweighed the risk associated with COVID-19 vaccination.