Heart Failure Patients Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Live Longer

Heart failure patients who are vaccinated against COVID-19 have a considerably greater likelihood of living longer than those who are unvaccinated, according to a study presented at Heart Failure 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

Previous studies have demonstrated the safety of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure, and that COVID-19 outcomes are worse in patients with heart failure compared with those without heart failure. However, until now, there has been little research on how COVID-19 vaccines impact patients with heart failure.

In this nationwide, retrospective study, researchers analyzed patients aged 18 years or older with heart failure from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. Overall, the analysis included 73,559 vaccinated patients, defined as those who had received 2 or more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 73,559 unvaccinated patients, who were not vaccinated or had received just 1 dose.

The results showed that COVID-19 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 infection compared with no vaccination. Moreover, COVID-19 vaccination reduced cardiovascular complications, leading to a notably lower risk of stroke, heart attack, myocarditis/pericarditis, and venous thromboembolism compared with no vaccination.

“Patients with heart failure should be vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect their health,” said study author Dr. Kyeong-Hyeon Chun, of the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital in Goyang, Republic of Korea, via a press release. “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 6-month period compared with remaining unvaccinated.”

Dr. Chun added that this 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.”