Karnataka Panel Finds No Link Between Heart Attacks and Covid or Vaccines

An expert committee in Karnataka has found no connection between heart problems and Covid-19 infection or vaccination. The panel studied recent heart attack deaths in Hassan district and said that common health issues like high blood pressure are more likely to be the cause. In fact, the report says Covid-19 vaccines may help protect the heart over time. The committee has suggested strong public health steps, including early heart health checks and better tracking of sudden heart-related deaths.

An expert committee set up by the Karnataka government has said that there is no link between early heart disease (like heart attacks) and a person’s past Covid infection or Covid vaccination. In fact, the panel said that getting vaccinated helps protect the heart in the long run.

This committee, led by Dr. Ravindranath, Director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, was formed to study the recent deaths due to heart attacks in Hassan district, where more than 20 people had died.

The committee gave its report to the government on July 2. It said that current data does not support the idea that “long Covid” is the reason for the increase in sudden heart attacks among young people. Instead, the rise in common risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and high cholesterol is a more likely reason.

The study done at Jayadeva Hospital also found no connection between early heart disease and previous Covid infection or vaccination. This finding is also supported by similar studies from other countries.

On the other hand, the report said that Covid vaccination actually helps reduce the risk of heart problems in the long term.

Recently, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said that the vaccine drive might be linked to the deaths in Hassan and that the vaccines were approved too quickly. His statement was criticised by BJP leaders and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

The expert panel explained that there is no single reason for the rise in heart attacks. Many factors – like lifestyle, genetics, and environment – may be involved. After recovering from Covid, there may be a temporary increase in heart problems due to inflammation in the body, but this risk doesn’t last long. The pandemic ended three years ago, so this is not a current issue.

The expert committee carefully studied 251 patients who were below 45 years of age and had come to Jayadeva Hospital with heart-related problems between April 1 and May 31, 2025. Each patient was personally interviewed by hospital staff. They collected full details about the patients’ health history—such as whether they had any past illness like Covid-19, if they were vaccinated, which vaccine they took, how many doses, and whether they had any side effects after vaccination.

After going through all this information, the committee found that most of these patients had common health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, or a habit of smoking—these are already known to increase the risk of heart disease. But surprisingly, some patients had none of these risk factors. This means that there might be other, less known or new reasons that are also causing heart issues in young people. So, more studies are needed to understand these unknown causes properly.

New Measures Suggested to Understand and Prevent Sudden Heart Deaths

The expert committee has advised the government to take several important steps to protect people’s health, especially to prevent sudden heart-related deaths. They said that just giving reports is not enough—now action is needed. First, they recommended creating a proper system to keep a close watch on sudden heart deaths, especially among young people, so such cases can be tracked and studied better. Second, they suggested that whenever there is an unexpected heart-related death, an autopsy (post-mortem) should be done. This will help doctors understand the exact reason for the death.

Third, the committee said that heart check-ups should begin at an early age—starting in schools itself—so that any heart problems can be caught and treated early. Lastly, they said that big research studies should be done across different parts of the country. These studies should look at the long-term effects of Covid infection and Covid vaccines on the heart. By doing this, we can get a clearer and more complete picture of what is really affecting people’s heart health in the long run.

What We Still Don’t Know About Covid, Vaccines, and Heart Risks

Right now, there is a lot of confusion and debate about whether Covid-19 infection or vaccination causes heart problems, especially in young people. Some people worry that vaccines might be linked to sudden heart attacks, while others believe it is mainly due to common health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, or unhealthy lifestyles. Because of this uncertainty, experts say that we need big, well-organized studies done in many different places over a long time. These studies will help us clearly understand the real long-term effects of both Covid infection and vaccines on the heart. Besides heart issues, vaccinations can sometimes cause mild side effects like fever, body pain, or tiredness, but serious health problems are very rare. Conducting such large studies will also help us know if there are any other health impacts of vaccination that we do not yet fully understand. Only with clear evidence can doctors and the public feel confident about vaccine safety and take better steps to protect people’s health.

Only through careful and large-scale research can we fully understand how Covid-19 and vaccines affect heart health, helping everyone make safer and better health decisions.