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Answering your questions about heart issues and the COVID vaccine

One viewer asked our Verify team if you could develop heart problems years after you take the COVID-19 vaccine.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — February is American Heart Month and our Verify team is taking questions about heart health. One viewer asked our Verify team if you could develop heart problems years after you take the COVID0-19 vaccine. 

Viewer, C Sigmon, emailed us saying: 

"We are hearing that if you've taken the Covid-19 vaccine, you could possibly have heart problems within three years." 

SOURCES:

WHAT WE FOUND: 

After getting the COVID vaccine, it is possible to get Myocarditis, which is a heart condition that inflames the heart muscle. However, Dr. Kohli tells WCNC it usually develops right after getting the vaccine. 

"Within the first few weeks, perhaps a couple of months of that vaccination," Dr. Kohli said. 

It's also pretty rare. A study by the American Heart Association researchers looked at medical records of people hospitalized for Myocarditis within 21 days of receiving the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. They found that of the 7.3 million people receiving the first, second, and third shots, only 41 people were hospitalized for Myocarditis. As far as this happening years down the road, we'll have to wait and see since the vaccine is still relatively new. However, Dr. Kohli said that's unlikely. 

"It is incredibly rare to get something called autoantibodies, which means the immune system gets triggered in such a way that makes antibodies in your own body cells, which then manifest many years later," Dr. Kohli said. 

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia looked at several different types of vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine. They found severe effects following a vaccine can occur, but they tend to happen within two months of vaccination, not years later. 

The FDA required companies making COVID-19 vaccines to follow trial participants for a minimum of two months before they could submit data for approval. Participants in the trial continue to be followed even though vaccines have been approved for use. 

"We have not yet seen autoantibodies being reported in a widespread fashion with the COVID-19 vaccine," Dr. Kohli said. 

VERIFY is dedicated to helping the public distinguish between true and false information. The VERIFY team, with help from questions submitted by the audience, tracks the spread of stories or claims that need clarification or correction. Have something you want VERIFIED? Text us at 704-329-3600 or visit VERIFY.

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