Misleading: Vaccine Heart Enlargement
The Claim
COVID-19 vaccines can cause cardiomegaly.
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Emerging story
The Israeli government recently announced that they are investigating reports of heart inflammation experienced by some recipients of the Pfizer vaccine. Usually, they occurred after the second dose. Some social media users posted about it on Twitter.
Having an enlarged heart – officially called cardiomegaly – can cause chest pains, shortness of breath, and other symptoms. Depending on the severity of the condition, it can result in blood clots and other serious health complications.
These reports come not long after the AstraZeneca vaccine was found, on very rare occasions, to cause blood clots.
Misbar’s Analysis
While the investigation is ongoing, these findings aren’t significant. Over 5 million people are fully vaccinated in Israel. 62 people have experienced cardiomegaly. If a connection between the two is made, that’s about a 0.001 percent chance.
Furthermore, there’s no evidence that it was the vaccine that caused cardiomegaly. Since so many people have been vaccinated, it’s entirely possible that some people got the symptom due to reasons unrelated to the vaccination.
As of yet, there’s no evidence to support the claim that vaccines cause heart enlargement. If evidence does turn up, the chance of getting it is so unlikely that it’s not worth not taking the vaccine because of the risk of cardiomegaly.
