Taking the COVID-19 vaccination would not only prevent people from contracting the coronavirus infection, but may also help patients with heart failure live longer, a recent study has revealed.
Heart failure occurs when a person's heart fails to pump enough blood for the body either because it does not fill up with adequate blood or it is too weak to pump properly. The condition affects around 6.5 million Americans over the age of 20.
Studies have shown that COVID-19 affects patients with heart failure severely. The latest study discovered that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 can improve the longevity of heart failure patients by 82% compared to those who are unvaccinated.
"Patients with heart failure should be vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect their health. In this large study of patients with heart failure, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a lower likelihood of contracting the infection, being admitted to hospital because of heart failure, or dying from any cause during a six-month period compared with remaining unvaccinated," said study author Dr. Kyeong-Hyeon Chun in a news release.
The researchers used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database that included information on 651,127 patients over 18 who had heart failure. Of the total population included in the study, 83% were vaccinated. Vaccinated population refers to those people who took at least two doses of COVID shots. To make a comparative study, researchers made a 1:1 match of vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, comparing 73,559 vaccinated patients against an equal number of unvaccinated patients.
"Vaccination was associated with an 82% lower risk of all-cause mortality, 47% lower risk of hospitalization for heart failure, and 13% reduced risk of COVID-19 infection9 compared with no vaccination," the news release stated.
The study also noted that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 significantly lowered the risks of cardiovascular conditions such as stroke, heart attack, myocarditis, pericarditis, and venous thromboembolism.
"This was the first analysis of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in a large population of heart failure patients, and the first to show a clear benefit from vaccination. The study provides strong evidence to support vaccination in patients with heart failure. However, this evidence may not be applicable to all patients with heart failure, and the risks of vaccination should be considered in patients with unstable conditions," Dr. Chun said.
