Special Episode 8. Myocarditis and Pericarditis in COVID19 patients with Dr James Sapontis

Covid vaccine induced Pericarditis-Myocarditis

Since the release of mRNA vaccines medical practitioners around the world have been receiving calls from patients complaining of chest discomfort typical of pericarditis some of these patients have also had associated ECG changes and cardiac enzyme elevation consistent with myocarditis. This phenomenon does not appear to be related to the non mRNA vaccines available. 

As of the 14th of November Australian data shows there have been 329 reports of likely myocarditis from 23.4 million delivered mRNA vaccine doses, a further 592 suspected but not confirmed cases and 1370 episodes of pericarditis. Based on this the TGA reported data for Australia estimates the rate of myocarditis or pericarditis after the first dose for men across all ages to be 2.1 per 100,000 and for women after the first dose to be 0.9 per 100,000. Rates following the second dose are higher with estimates of 2.7 per 100 000 for men and 1.1 per 100 000 for women. By comparison rates associated with the Covid 19 virus are estimated at the much higher rate of 11 per 100 000.

It should be noted that background normal rates of pericarditis for males aged 18-34 is 37 per 100,000 and for females aged 18-34 years the rate is 16 per 100,000.

TGA statistics also show higher suspected rates of myocarditis and pericarditis for boys aged 12-17 especially after their second dose of Pfizer estimated at 8.5 cases per 100,000 which is more than 3 times the overall rate amongst all males (2.7 per 100,000).

Reliable data for the Moderna mRNA vaccine are not yet available in Australia however overseas data suggests higher rates of myocarditis and pericarditis for male recipient's under the age of 30 years compared with the Pfizer vaccine.

It was a real privilege to have this conversation with Dr James's Sapontis director of cardiology at St John of God Hospital Berwick who has been fielding calls from primary practitioners seeing such patients and attending emergency admissions.

References:
Dr James's Sapontis : www.jamessapontis.com

www.health.gov.au :Covid 19 vaccination-Guidance on myocarditis and pericarditis

www.cdc.gov :Myocarditis and pericarditisafter mRNA Covid 19 vaccination

www1.racgp.org.au :TGA updates post-COVID vaccine myocarditis ratesTo be a guest on the show or provide some feedback, I’d love to hear from you: manager@gihealth.com.au

Dr Luke Crantock MBBS, FRACP, is a gastroenterologist in practice for over 25 years. He is the founder of The Centre for GI Health, based in Melbourne Australia and is passionate about educating General Practitioners and patients on disease prevention and how to manage and improve their digestive health.