Cardiac Complications Associated With COVID-19 Vaccination: A Systematic Review of Cohort Studies

The COVID-19 global pandemic affected every human on earth, and we are still currently feeling the repercussions. The unprecedented transmission of the virus and the response as well as the mobilization of the major health authorities internationally resulted in one of the largest-scale immunization drives in modern history. As of January 16, 2025, 13.64 billion COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally. Cardiac adverse effects, such as the development of pericarditis and or myocarditis after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, have been a major focus of study. In most systematic reviews reported globally, evidence was synthesized from case reports and case series. This systematic review aims to amalgamate the data from various cohort studies to identify the risk of the development of adverse effects after the COVID-19 vaccine. An extensive review of the literature was done on the following databases: PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Trip database, and Google Scholar. All cohort studies included were completed and available between December 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024 and were based on the cardiac adverse effects from the COVID-19 vaccinations. A total of 18,272 articles were screened initially. Four studies were finally assessed regarding the cardiac side effects of the COVID-19 vaccinations and were ultimately included in the systematic review based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Immunization with an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine may directly cause cardiovascular adverse events such as the development of myocarditis or pericarditis. The likelihood of such an event occurring is minimal but is most certainly a possibility, the risks of such adverse effects are notably raised in younger males between the ages of 16 and 39 years in age receiving their second dose of an mRNA-based vaccine. It is thus advised that those individuals who fall into the above category be labeled as "higher risk" and should have increased post-vaccination surveillance and follow-up to earlier diagnose the development thereof. The benefits of the vaccine still do, however, by far outweigh the minimal risks involved and it is thus advised that immunization effort continues in earnest.