COVID-19 vaccination is associated with a significant reduction in mortality among patients with heart failure, according to a study published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure. Noting that reports of vaccine-related cardiac complications may contribute to vaccine hesitancy in patients with heart failure, Kipp W. Johnson, MD, PhD, and colleagues assessed the impact of COVID-19 vaccine status on clinical outcomes in this patient population. The analysis included EHR data from 7,094 patients with heart failure (48% female; mean age, 73.3). As of January 2022, 9.1% were partially vaccinated, 31% were fully vaccinated, 14.8% were vaccine boosted, and 45.1% remained unvaccinated. During a mean follow-up of 276.5 days, patients who were vaccine-boosted, followed by those who were fully vaccinated, experienced lower mortality (HRs, 0.33 and 0.36, respectively) versus unvaccinated individuals. There was no difference observed between those who were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. “The findings further emphasize that heart failure patients need to take vaccines seriously, since they have worse outcomes if infected with COVID-19,” a co-author said in a statement.
