According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory group, some teenagers and young adults who received Covid-19 vaccines have experienced myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.
- The condition often goes away without complications and can be caused by a variety of viruses, says CDC.
- The CDC said the cases typically occurred within four days after receiving mRNA vaccines.
- The Covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna are mRNA vaccines.
What is myocarditis?
- According to the Mayo Clinic, myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium).
- It can affect heart muscle and heart’s electrical system, reducing heart’s ability to pump and causing rapid or abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).
- A viral infection usually causes myocarditis, but it can result from a reaction to a drug or be part of a more general inflammatory condition, says Mayo Clinic.
