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CDC Says Heart Issues Related To Covid-19 Vaccine Are Very Rare

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The CDC reports the second dose of the COVID 19 vaccine is having heart issues in some patients. Most are men, between the ages of 12-30 and doctors say the condition is extremely rare, often correcting itself without treatment.

Dr. Sunal Makadia, Cardiologist at LifeBridge Health said, "there have been very few cases of myocarditis or pericarditis; inflammation of the heart muscle associated with the vaccine. It's about 12 in a million chance of that happening."

16-year-old Noah Hier was one of the unlucky ones who was pulled from sleep due to these side effects. "I woke up at 2 am with chest pain," he told CBS.

Most of the effects have been linked to Pfizer, and again, the second dose. Side effects can vary and can happen to anyone, according to Makadia. "Within a week or two weeks after the second dose people can experience fever. Fatigue, chest discomfort, sharp chest pain that gets worse when they take deep breaths. They can feel heart arrhythmias or palpitations, like a fluttering or racing." Said Dr. Makadia.

You might need to take it easy. Makadia said "most of the time it's going away on its own. It might take some time and there are certainly restrictions on exercise and activity."

Hier said he is not regretting the vaccine. His younger brother was also vaccinated after his scare.  "This experience was much better than getting Covid," Hier said.

Dr. Makadia said the CDC has not reported any deaths due to these vaccine complications.

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