A young person gets a Covid vaccine in Karnataka(L), Representative image of a heart attack.
Credit: DH Photo, iStock Photo
Bengaluru: The expert committee set up by the state government to analyse the correlation between Covid vaccine and sudden deaths due to heart attacks among youngsters has concluded that there is no association between premature cardiovascular disease and a prior history of Covid infection or Covid Vaccination.
The report also noted that the current data does not support the thought that “long covid” is responsible for the rise in sudden cardiovascular events among the young.
While many cardiologists had flagged that there was an increase in sudden deaths due to heart attacks right after the pandemic, the report said that this would not hold true on a long term
“While in the immediate post covid phase, there was an increase in the incidence of sudden cardiovascular events due to a pro-inflammatory state, the same cannot be held to be true in the long term (1 year). It has been three years since the end of the pandemic,” the report said.
The expert committee also examined various research papers published across the world to understand if there could be any correlation between Covid and sudden heart attacks. However, most studies or reports published in the rest of the world also have not found any causal association between Covid vaccination and sudden cardiovascular events, the report noted.
“On the contrary, Covid vaccination has been shown to be protective against cardiac events in the long term,” the report said.
The conclusion was drawn after observing 251 patients below the age of 45 who had presented with heart problems at the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences between April 1, 2025 and May 31, 2025.
“A detailed risk factor profile analysis was done specifically including past history of Covid-19 infection– in detail including symptoms, hospitalization, severity, ventilatory support requirement. Similarly detailed history regarding covid-19 vaccination, including number of doses, brand of vaccine, immediate vaccine adverse events was taken,” the report said.
The collected data was then compared with a similar study that was conducted between April 1, 2019 and May 31, 2019, to draw out the analysis.
Increase in hypertension, diabetes, smoking pose a risk
Report says a rise in the prevalence of the common risk factors could be the reason for sudden heart attacks. While ruling out the correlation between Covid and sudden heart attacks in the state, the expert committee opined that such incidents cannot be attributed to one single cause. “A rise in the prevalence of the common risk factors that lead to cardiovascular disease (like hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and dyslipidemia) is the best explanation for the rise in sudden cardiovascular events.... It appears to be a multifactorial issue, with behavioral, genetic, and environmental risks,” the report said. The study revealed that the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and Dyslipidemia were consistently more prevalent in 2025 compared with the centre’s 2019 pre-Covid data, suggesting that pandemic-related lifestyle disruptions or metabolic sequelae may have shifted the risk profile.