While Covid numbers are rising again, Italy is in the midst of a vaccination campaign that is struggling to get off the ground. Among the factors preventing injections against Sars-Cov-2 for those most at risk are confusion, ambiguity and misinformation about side effects associated with anti-Covid vaccines, especially those with mRNA. Doubts continue to spread among citizens, especially regarding Relationship between dose administration and possible development of myocarditis or pericarditis, A topic that the pandemic has still left open and that doctors can now analyze with a few more elements.
what is myocarditis
have both myocarditis and pericarditis Inflammatory processes affecting the heartWhich essentially vary by the area affected by the inflammation.
Myocarditis compromises the muscle tissue that makes up the walls of the organ, i.e. the myocardium. Inflammation can be caused by a variety of causes, ranging from viral infection (primarily caused by coxsackievirus, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis C virus, herpes virus, HIV, adenovirus, and parvovirus) to systemic pathology or autoimmune mechanisms, to exposure to toxins, to certain There may be hypersensitivity to it. Medicines.
in general the disease is asymptomatic, but it can manifest itself in different forms. The most common symptom is chest pain that is often mistaken for a heart attack, while other signs of ongoing inflammation include fever and sore throat, joint and muscle pain, shortness of breath or fatigue, fluid retention, feeling tired, and fainting. Can happen.
In the most severe cases, myocarditis can lead to heartbeat abnormalities and arrhythmias, weakness or heart failure, electrical or mechanical dysfunction of the heart, tissue necrosis, and even cardiac arrest.
what is pericarditis
On the other hand, pericarditis is aInflammation of the pericardium, the membrane that surrounds the heart, Also in this case the disease can arise from various causes, such as viral or bacterial infections, autoimmune diseases, tumors or kidney failure.
Similarly, the symptoms can also vary, similar to myocarditis, sudden chest pain which may be considered a heart attack, and then high fever, shortness of breath, dry cough, nausea, weakness and feeling of fatigue, Inflammation is involved. Organ.
Relationship between myocarditis, pericarditis and anti-Covid vaccine
During the pandemic, some cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have been linked to the administration of the anti-Covid vaccine, a correlation that is now contested by many experts, such as the president of the Italian Federation of Cardiology and professor at the University of Catanzaro, siro indolfi: “After vaccination of billions of people, there have been some cases of association between vaccines and myocarditis or pericarditis – he told in an interview with ‘Repubblica’ – mostly found in young men who were vaccinated with the second dose of mRNA. Was imposed. But current evidence on the hypothesized association is largely based on published case reports and case series as well as observational investigations and meta-analyses.
For Professor Indolfi, although some cases of acute myocarditis “potentially associated with anti-Covid vaccination” were diagnosed through biopsy, “there are still some and Doubts about the actual occurrence of this complication are justified.,
As cardiologists clarify, the onset of myocarditis especially after the administration of anti-Covid doses “remains relatively rare and has a very low mortality rate, The incidence varies by vaccine type, gender and age and after the first, second or third dose of vaccination.”