Korean J Leg Med.  2021 Nov;45(4):133-138. 10.7580/kjlm.2021.45.4.133.

Sudden Cardiac Death Caused by Cardiac Small Vessel Vasculitis after COVID-19 Vaccination (BNT162b2 nCov-19): A Case Report

• Park S
• Kim MK
• Baek K

• KMID: 2526233
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2021.45.4.133

Abstract

This study presents a case of sudden cardiac death due to cardiac small vessel vasculitis after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccination (BNT162b2). The deceased was a 76-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic hypertension (HTN), who experienced generalized pain for a month after the first dose of vaccination, and unexpectedly died. Postmortem examination revealed small vessel vasculitis in the heart, lungs and vaccinated site of the left arm. These features were similar to those observed in a previously reported case of a patient with COVID-19 and cardiac endotheliitis and multisystem inflammatory syndrome. In addition, DM and HTN may contribute to vaccine-induced immunologic changes and vascular dysfunction. However, further studies with additional cases are needed.

Keyword

COVID-19 vaccines; Vasculitis