COVID-19 vaccines did not increase the risk of sudden death among youth: study

Subject: Science and tech

Section: Health

Context:

COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden death among young adults, but health issues and lifestyle factors appear to play a more prominent role in these events, according to a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Details of the study:

The study was conducted to investigate the factors contributing to sudden unexplained deaths among healthy young adults in India
Findings are revealed in a study, titled “Factors associated with sudden deaths among adults aged 18 to 45 in India”. The study is a multi-centric matched case-control report.
Factors that did increase the chances of sudden death included having a family history of sudden death, being in the hospital for COVID-19 in the past, and certain behaviors such as binge drinking and intense physical activity shortly before death.
Key finding: COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden death among young adults in India, but it reduces the risk of sudden death.

Cases of sudden death in India post-covid-19 pandemic:

Also called Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD).
It is an unexpected, natural death within an hour, caused by an abrupt stoppage of the heart, preceded by fainting at the onset of acute cardiac malfunction. It can affect any individual with or without pre-existing heart disease but those with higher risk factors are more at risk. Many victims also die in their sleep.
Sudden Death almost always has cardiovascular causes with more than 95 per cent of the fatalities due to sudden cardiac arrest.
Less than five per cent of these are due to rupture of some relatively big vessel (artery or aorta) leading to massive bleeding into the stomach, chest or brain.
- One of the important reasons for rupture of the aorta is excessive dilatation defined as an aortic aneurysm, which is a balloon-like bulge in the aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart through the chest and torso.

How is SCD different from a heart attack?

A heart attack occurs due to sudden, total (100 percent) blockage of the two coronary arteries. If a heart attack occurs due to blockage in a major or big coronary artery, it can certainly lead to cardiac arrest.
Only 15 percent of sudden cardiac arrests occur due to heart attacks while 85 per cent are due to an already damaged heart.

Source: TH