Anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced myocarditis – real but, in general, rare and mild: A consensus statement from the Studies Committee of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology

Acute myocarditis (especially) and pericarditis have been consistently associated with the administration of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), generating anxiety in the general population, uncertainty in the scientific community and obstacles to ambitious mass vaccination programs, especially in foreign countries. Like some of its European counterparts, the Portuguese Society of Cardiology (SPC), through its Studies Committee, decided to take a position on some of the most pressing questions related to this issue: (i) How certain are we of this epidemiological association? (ii) What is the probability of its occurrence? (iii) What are the pathophysiological bases of these inflammatory syndromes? (iv) Should their diagnosis, treatment and prognosis follow the same steps as for typical idiopathic or post-viral acute myopericarditis cases? (v) Is the risk of post-vaccine myocarditis great enough to overshadow the occurrence of serious COVID-19 disease in unvaccinated individuals? In addition, the SPC will issue clinical recommendations and offer its outlook on the various paths this emerging disease may take in the future.