COVID-19 vaccines tied to lower risk of post-COVID heart disease
Vaccination before infection was linked to a 2.00% reduction in the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease after COVID-19.
Limit: The researchers reported no data on side effects
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers evaluated 496,338 COVID-19-positive and 1,537,275 COVID-19-negative individuals in an observational study. They analyzed whether vaccination before or after infection was linked to post-infection cardiovascular disease, including stroke, heart failure, and heart attacks.
Vaccination before infection was associated with a 2.00% reduction in the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease after COVID-19. Direct effects accounted for a 1.73% reduction in absolute risk, while preventing infection accounted for 0.27%. Vaccination received after infection was linked to a 1.40% reduction in absolute risk. The researchers also recorded lower rates of stroke, heart failure, and acute coronary syndrome, which is suddenly reduced blood flow to the heart. Reductions in risk grew larger with additional vaccine doses. In addition, flu vaccination alone or combined with COVID-19 vaccination was linked to further cardiovascular benefit.
Why it matters
Heart disease and stroke are leading causes of disability and death in aging populations. These findings bear on whether routine immunization can help limit long-term cardiovascular damage following viral infections in later life.
Caveats
Because this was an observational study rather than a randomized trial, it cannot determine whether vaccination caused the lower risk, and unmeasured differences between groups may have influenced the results. In addition, the findings were presented as a conference abstract without full peer review, and the researchers reported no data on side effects.
The paper
Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
