COVID-19 Vaccination-Associated Myocarditis: A Literature Review

Myocarditis is defined as a non-ischemic inflammation of the middle layer of the heart. It ensues changes that can lead to acute heart failure, dilated cardiomyopathy, and sudden death. Myocarditis is caused by several infectious and non-infectious agents. Vaccines are also known to cause myocarditis. The use of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination was started to combat the severity of the COVID-19 infection and reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with it. The vaccination, however, caused side effects like myocarditis, among others. In order to investigate the association between the COVID-19 vaccination and myocarditis in adults and adolescents, we conducted a literature review by searching three databases: Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. From the published literature, we found that, though it is rare, the various vaccinations available can cause symptoms of myocarditis as a side effect more commonly in patients who have received both doses of a particular vaccine and that there are significant changes in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) and other biochemical markers, with young males being more commonly affected. Further prospective trial-based studies are required to establish a concrete relationship between myocarditis and the COVID-19 vaccine.