Journal of

Clinical Medicine

Article
The Incidence of Myocarditis and Pericarditis in Post COVID-19
Unvaccinated Patients—A Large Population-Based Study
Ortal Tuvali 1,† , Sagi Tshori 2,† , Estela Derazne 3 , Rebecca Regina Hannuna 2 , Arnon Afek 3,4 , Dan Haberman 1 ,
Gal Sella 1 and Jacob George 1, *

1 Heart Center, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel;
[email protected] (O.T.); [email protected] (D.H.); [email protected] (G.S.)
2 Research Authority, Rehovot, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel;
[email protected] (S.T.); [email protected] (R.R.H.)
3 Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; [email protected] (E.D.);
[email protected] (A.A.)
4 General Management, The Chaim Sheba Medical Centre, Tel Hashomer, Ramat-Gan 52621, Israel
* Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +972-8-944-1335; Fax: +972-8-944-1598
† These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Myocarditis and pericarditis are potential post-acute cardiac sequelae of COVID-19 in-
fection, arising from adaptive immune responses. We aimed to study the incidence of post-acute
COVID-19 myocarditis and pericarditis. Retrospective cohort study of 196,992 adults after COVID-19
infection in Clalit Health Services members in Israel between March 2020 and January 2021. Inpatient
myocarditis and pericarditis diagnoses were retrieved from day 10 after positive PCR. Follow-up
was censored on 28 February 2021, with minimum observation of 18 days. The control cohort of



590,976 adults with at least one negative PCR and no positive PCR were age- and sex-matched. Since


the Israeli vaccination program was initiated on 20 December 2020, the time-period matching of
Citation: Tuvali, O.; Tshori, S.;
the control cohort was calculated backward from 15 December 2020. Nine post-COVID-19 patients
Derazne, E.; Hannuna, R.R.; Afek, A.;
developed myocarditis (0.0046%), and eleven patients were diagnosed with pericarditis (0.0056%).
Haberman, D.; Sella, G.; George, J.
The Incidence of Myocarditis and
In the control cohort, 27 patients had myocarditis (0.0046%) and 52 had pericarditis (0.0088%). Age
Pericarditis in Post COVID-19 (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.93 to 1.00) and male sex (aHR 4.42;
Unvaccinated Patients—A Large 95% CI, 1.64 to 11.96) were associated with myocarditis. Male sex (aHR 1.93; 95% CI 1.09 to 3.41) and
Population-Based Study. J. Clin. Med. peripheral vascular disease (aHR 4.20; 95% CI 1.50 to 11.72) were associated with pericarditis. Post
2022, 11, 2219. https://doi.org/ COVID-19 infection was not associated with either myocarditis (aHR 1.08; 95% CI 0.45 to 2.56) or
10.3390/jcm11082219 pericarditis (aHR 0.53; 95% CI 0.25 to 1.13). We did not observe an increased incidence of neither
Academic Editor: Andrea Frustaci pericarditis nor myocarditis in adult patients recovering from COVID-19 infection.

Received: 25 March 2022 Keywords: COVID-19; myocarditis; pericarditis

Accepted: 12 April 2022
Published: 15 April 2022

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral

with regard to jurisdictional claims in 1. Introduction
published maps and institutional affil- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome
iations. coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide [1].
In addition to the clinical manifestations during the acute phase of the COVID-19 disease,
there is an accumulating data regarding the subacute and long-term effects of COVID-19,
also known as “post-acute COVID-19 syndrome” or “Long COVID”, defined by persistent
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
symptoms several weeks after onset of COVID-19 infection [2]. The “Long-COVID” or
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
“post-acute COVID-19 syndrome” is characterized by multi-organ sequelae or persistent
distributed under the terms and
symptoms after recovering from the acute COVID-19 phase, generally after 3 to 4 weeks
conditions of the Creative Commons from the onset of symptoms or the first PCR positive result test [3].
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// The pathogenesis of “Long-COVID” may result from several mechanisms, including
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ direct viral toxicity, hypercoagulability, microvascular injury, and angiotensin-converting
4.0/). enzyme maladaptation [4]. While the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms leading

J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 2219. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11082219 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jcm

J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 2219 2 of 10

to post-acute COVID-19 are yet to be fully understood, immune-mediated response [5,6]

and immune dysregulation [4] are believed to play a major contributing role in the patho-
genesis of this syndrome. There is no consensus as to which time point represents the
transition from the acute COVID-10 infection and the recovery phase. As we were consid-
ering an indirect immune-mediated inflammation as the potential mechanism explaining
delayed peri/myocarditis we reasoned that 10 days after infection is a relevant time point
as this is valid with regard to pericarditis after myocardial infarction (Dressler syndrome)
or cardiac surgery (postpericardiotomy syndrome).
Infectious causes have been shown to be an important inciting event in the patho-
physiology of autoimmune diseases [7]. Viral infections have also been associated with the
presence of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and
diabetes mellitus [8].
In viral infections, both direct contact and replication-induced injury and autoimmune
mechanisms have been implicated in the pathogenesis of consequent myocarditis. Inap-
propriate regulation of T cells resulting from pathogen-related altered self -proteins or
from molecular mimicry between the virus and the host or over-activation of B cells may
lead to inappropriate immune-mediated damage to host tissue [9]. As such, this delayed
inappropriate response may trigger autoimmune like myocarditis and pericarditis [10].
Accordingly, in a subset of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, prior my-
ocarditis is considered causative in some cases and an example supportive of associating
etiopathogenesis is the occurrence of anti-beta 1 adrenoreceptor antibodies [11].
Several autoimmune phenomena were linked to a previous COVID-19 infection in-
cluding heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HITT), Kawasaki-like syndromes (MIS-C and
MIS-A), Guillain-Barre syndrome, vasculitis, and thyroiditis [8]. Thus, it can be postu-
lated that the risk for autoimmune induced myocarditis and pericarditis is increased in
recovering COVID-19 patients.
It has recently been reported that the incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis is
increased in COVID-19 patients during the acute illness [12]. However; whether or not
myocarditis and pericarditis after the recovery period are a part of the long COVID-19
syndrome is yet unknown. Herein, we studied the incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis
in a large cohort of COVID-19 patients after recovering from the acute infection.

2. Methods
2.1. Study Setting
We retrieved observational data from Clalit Health Services (CHS). CHS is the largest
of four health maintenance organizations that offer mandatory health care coverage in Israel.
CHS insures over 50% of the Israeli population (>4.4 million persons), and the CHS-insured
population is approximately representative of the Israeli population at large [12,13]. CHS
provides outpatient care, and inpatient care is divided between CHS and other hospitals.
Research data can be retrieved from the central data warehouse using the CHS Secure
Data Sharing Platform powered by MDClone (https://www.mdclone.com, accessed on
5 September 2021).
This study was approved by the institutional review board, and was exempt from the
requirement for informed consent.

2.2. Study Design and Patient Population

We retrieved records of all adult patients (age ≥ 18 years) who had a documented posi-
tive COVID-19 PCR test (n = 213,624) between 7 March 2020 and 31 January 2021 (Figure 1A).
Records included demography and cardiovascular risk factors: smoking status, obesity,
diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, CKD (chronic kidney disease), PVD (peripheral vascular
disease, ACS (acute coronary syndrome), essential hypertension, CVA (cerebrovascular
accident), and heart failure (for the The International Classification of disease (ICD-10) code
list for all diagnoses, see Table S1). Diagnostic inpatient codes for myocarditis (I40, I40.9,
I51.4) and pericarditis (I30, I30.0, I30.9) were extracted between 10 days after COVID-19
 obesity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, CKD (chronic kidney disease), PVD (per
eral vascular disease, ACS (acute coronary syndrome), essential hypertension, CVA (
ebrovascular accident), and heart failure (for the The International Classification of
ease (ICD-10) code list for all diagnoses, see Table S1). Diagnostic inpatient codes for
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 2219 ocarditis (I40, I40.9, I51.4) and pericarditis (I30, I30.0, I30.9) were extracted 3 of 10between

days after COVID-19 infection and earliest between 6 months from infection or 28 Feb
ary 2021. This was done to ensure a minimum follow-up period of 18 days and a m
infection and earliest between 6 months from infection or 28 February 2021. This was done
mum follow-up period of six months. Since data was retrieved during October 2021,
to ensure a minimum follow-up period of 18 days and a maximum follow-up period of
allowed
six months.forSince
overdata
6 months delay during
was retrieved in dataOctober
transfer between
2021, hospitals
we allowed that
for over do not belon
6 months
the CHS
delay andtransfer
in data the CHS data hospitals
between warehouse. The
that do notpost-COVID
belong to the timeframe
CHS and thewas CHSdefined
data from
least ten days
warehouse. Theafter the datetimeframe
post-COVID of positivewasPCR test from
defined contingent upon
at least ten lack
days of the
after symptoms
date rela
of positive PCR test contingent upon lack of symptoms related to COVID-19
to COVID-19 infection, according to the definitions of the Israeli Ministry of Health. infection,
according
tients withto the definitions
a first of the Israeli
vaccination receivedMinistry of Health.
before Patients
COVID-19 with a first
infection vaccina-
were excluded
tion received before COVID-19 infection were excluded (n = 16,632), resulting in the final
16,632), resulting in the final COVID-19 cohort (n = 196,992).
COVID-19 cohort (n = 196,992).

Figure 1. Study profile, design and timelines. ‘clalit’ = Clalit Health Services. Vaccination = COVID-19
Figure 1. Study
vaccination. PCR profile, design and timelines.
−/+ = negative/positive COVID-19‘clalit’
PCR. = (A).
Clalit Health Services.
Flowchart Vaccination
of patient selection in = COV
19
COVID and control cohorts. (B). Research timeline from first PCR in 7 March 2020 to the end of study selectio
vaccination. PCR −/+ = negative/positive COVID-19 PCR. (A). Flowchart of patient
COVID andThe
(lower part). control
COVIDcohorts.
cohort is(B). Research
depicted timeline
in the upper part,from first
and the PCR in
matching 7 March
period of the 2020
controlto the en
study
cohort (lower part).
is depicted The
in the COVID cohort is depicted in the upper part, and the matching period o
middle.
control cohort is depicted in the middle.
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 2219 4 of 10

A control group was created from a cohort of adult patients with at least one negative
COVID-19 PCR between 7 March 2020 and 15 December 2020, and with no prior positive
COVID-19 PCR before retrieval of data in August 2021 (n = 935,976). 15 December 2020
was selected as the stop date, since the massive Israeli vaccination campaign was initiated
on 20 December 2020. Still, five patients were excluded due to a previous COVID-19
vaccination. From this pool of patients (n = 935,971), the control cohort was created by
3:1 matching of age (±2 years) and sex (n = 590,976). The follow-up period of each of
the three control patients was set to the exact same length of follow-up of the matched
COVID-19 patient. The follow-up period was calculated backwards from 15 December 2020
(Figure 1B), in order to avoid the potential impact of COVID-19 vaccination on myocarditis
and pericarditis. Although the COVID-19 patients’ drafting period was from March 2020
to January 2021, almost all COVID-19 cases occurred between July 2020 and January
2021 (Figure S1).

2.3. Statistical Analysis

We compared the baseline characteristics of the cohorts with the chi-square test. We
used Kaplan-Meier cumulative incidence curves to assess the effect of post-COVID-19 infec-
tion on myocarditis and pericarditis up to a maximal follow-up of six months. Univariable
and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used. Post-COVID
infection, age, sex, BMI, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, chronic kidney injury, smoking
status, peripheral vascular disease, acute coronary syndrome, and essential hypertension
were introduced in the adjusted models. Both crude hazard ratio (HR) and adjusted HR
(aHR) are presented with 95% confidence intervals. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered
statistically significant. Statistical analyses were performed with R version 4.0.2, packages:
survival, Survminer, ggplot2, and with SPSS version 26 (IBM).

3. Results
A total of 787,968 Clalit Health Services adult members (age ≥ 18) were included
in the study (Figure 1), comprising of COVID-19 cohort (n = 196,992) and a sex and age
3:1 matched control cohort (n = 590,976). Total follow-up was 700,040 person-months in
the COVID-19 cohort, and 2,100,077 person-months in the control cohort, with a median
follow-up of 4.1 months [IQR 1.3–5.6 months]. The mean standard deviation (SD) age in
both groups was 42.4 (17.7) years, and 45.7% were males (Table 1). There was a slightly
higher BMI (mean (SD) 27.1 (7.1) vs. 26.1 (6.7) kg/m2 ) with higher prevalence of obesity
(29.9% vs. 24.6%), diabetes mellitus (13% vs. 10.5%), essential hypertension (18.5% vs. 17%),
cerebrovascular accidents (4% vs. 3.7%) and heart failure (2.6% vs. 2.2%) in the COVID-19
cohort. There was a lower prevalence of current and past smoking (11.3% vs. 18.4% and
10.8% vs. 12.3%) and peripheral vascular disease (1.2% vs. 1.4%) in the COVID-19 cohort.
During the study period, nine cases of myocarditis and 11 cases of pericarditis were
detected in the COVID-19 cohort (Table 2). Twenty-seven cases of myocarditis and 52 cases
of pericarditis were detected in the control cohort. Two out of the nine myocarditis pa-
tients were hospitalized due to severe COVID-19 infection with the need for mechanical
ventilation, and myocarditis was diagnosed during the COVID-19 hospitalization at days
19 and 37 after infection, respectively. None of the patients who were diagnosed with
pericarditis were hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection. The median (IQR) duration
of hospitalization following myocarditis in the COVID-19 cohort was 5 (2–25) days vs.
3 (3–5) days in the control cohort (p = 0.291). The median (IQR) duration of hospitalization
following pericarditis was 2 (2–3.5) days in the COVID-19 cohort and 3 (1.8–5.3) days in the
control cohort (p = 0.272).
No statistical difference in the incidence rate of both myocarditis (p =1) and pericarditis
(p =0.17) was observed between the COVID-19 cohort and the control cohort (Figure 2).
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 2219 5 of 10

Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of the study population by COVID-19 infection status.

Control COVID-19
(n = 590,976) (n = 196,992)
Age (year) 42.4 (17.7) 42.4 (17.7)
Sex
Male 270,210 (45.7) 90,070 (45.7)
Female 320,766 (54.3) 106,922 (54.3)
BMI (kg/m2) 26.1 (7.1) 27.1 (6.7)
Sector
Arab 109,759 (18.6) 58,841 (29.9)
Bedouin 19,956 (3.4) 5306 (2.7)
Jewish 436,986 (74.1) 108,360 (55.0)
Other 23,285 (3.9) 24,475 (12.4)
Smoking
Never 383,002 (69.3) 137,079 (78.0)
Current 101,475 (18.4) 19,824 (11.3)
Past 67,992 (12.3) 18,917 (10.8)
Obesity 145,537 (24.6) 58,807 (29.9)
Diabetes 61,978 (10.5) 25,583 (13.0)
Hyperlipidemia 183,704 (31.1) 60,629 (30.8)
CKD 18,593 (3.1) 6725 (3.4)
PVD 8016 (1.4) 2448 (1.2)
Hypertension 100,736 (17.0) 36,502 (18.5)
ACS 32,987 (5.6) 11,027 (5.6)
CVA 22,032 (3.7) 7833 (4.0)
Heart failure 13,228 (2.2) 5132 (2.6)
Variables were expressed as no. (%) or as mean (SD). CKD = chronic kidney disease. PVD = peripheral vascular
disease, CVA = Cerebrovascular Accident. ACS = acute coronary syndrome.

Table 2. Baseline characteristics of patients with myocarditis and pericarditis patients in the COVID
and no COVID cohorts.

Myocarditis Pericarditis
No COVID COVID No COVID COVID
(n = 27) (n = 9) p-Value (n = 52) (n = 11) p-Value

Days in hospital 3 [3–5] 5 [2–25] 0.291 3 [1.8–5.3] 2 [2–3.5] 0.272

Age (year) 39.1 (16.8) 36.4 (19.7) 0.695 49.1 (20.3) 45.6 (19.3) 0.609
Sex (male) 20 (74.1) 8 (88.9) 0.643 31 (59.6) 8 (72.7) 0.637
BMI (kg/m2 ) 27.3 (6.1) 26.3 (6.9) 0.713 26.5 (5.8) 28.6 (3.8) 0.319
Diabetes 4 (14.8) 1 (11.1) 1.000 12 (23.1) 1 (9.1) 0.528
Hyperlipidemia 6 (22.2) 2 (22.2) 1.000 25 (48.1) 4 (36.4) 0.708
Obesity 14 (51.9) 1 (11.1) 0.079 15 (28.8) 6 (54.5) 0.197
CKD 3 (11.1) 1 (11.1) 1.000 7 (13.5) 1 (9.1) 1.000
Smoking Now 6 (26.1) 1 (12.5) 0.602 9 (19.1) 1 (9.1) 0.777
Past 3 (13.0) 2 (25.0) 7 (14.9) 1 (9.1)
PVD 2 (7.4) 0 (0.0) 1.000 4 (7.7) 2 (18.2) 0.609
ACS 3 (11.1) 2 (22.2) 0.781 9 (17.3) 2 (18.2) 1.000
Hypertension 5 (18.5) 2 (22.2) 1.000 15 (28.8) 3 (27.3) 1.000
CVA 3 (11.1) 2 (22.2) 0.781 5 (9.6) 2 (18.2) 0.769
HF 5 (18.5) 2 (22.2) 1.000 6 (11.5) 1 (9.1) 1.000
Severe COVID - 2 (22.2) NA - 0 (0.0) NA
Variables were expressed as no. (%), median [IQR], or as mean (SD). CKD = chronic kidney disease. PVD =
peripheral vascular disease. CVA = Cerebrovascular Accident, ACS = acute coronary syndrome. HF = Heart
Failure. Days in hospital = length of stay of the hospitalization at which myocarditis/pericarditis were diagnosed.
 drome. HF = Heart Failure. Days in hospital = length of stay of the hospitalization at which myocar-
ditis/pericarditis were diagnosed.

No statistical difference in the incidence rate of both myocarditis (p =1) and pericar-
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 2219 ditis (p =0.17) was observed between the COVID-19 cohort and the control cohort (Figure
6 of 10
2).

Figure 2. Kaplan-Meier estimates of cumulative probability of myocarditis (A) and pericarditis (B) in
Figure 2. Kaplan-Meier estimates of cumulative probability of myocarditis (A) and pericarditis (B)
COVID-19 and control cohorts during 6 months.
in COVID-19 and control cohorts during 6 months.
In the multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model (Table 3, Tables S2 and S3),
age (aHR 0.96; 95% CI 0.93 to 1.00, p =0.045) and the male sex (aHR 4.42; 95% CI 1.64 to
11.96, p = 0.003) were independently associated with myocarditis. Obesity was borderline
associated with myocarditis (aHR 2.31; 95% CI 0.99 to 5.41, p = 0.053). Post COVID-19
infection was not associated with myocarditis (aHR 1.08; 95% CI 0.45 to 2.56, p = 0.869).
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 2219 7 of 10

Table 3. Adjusted HRs for myocarditis and pericarditis.

Myocarditis Pericarditis
aHR (95% CI) p-Value aHR (95% CI) p-Value
COVID-19 1.08 (0.45–2.56) 0.869 0.53 (0.25–1.13) 0.100
Age 0.96 (0.93–1.00) 0.045 * 1.01 (0.99–1.03) 0.537
Sex (male) 4.42 (1.64–11.96) 0.003 * 1.93 (1.09–3.41) 0.025 *
BMI 1.00 (0.97–1.04) 0.935 1.00 (0.94–1.06) 0.897
Diabetes 1.15 (0.26–5.00) 0.856 0.97 (0.43–2.21) 0.950
Hyperlipidemia 0.33 (0.08–1.43) 0.139 1.13 (0.54–2.38) 0.749
Obesity 2.31 (0.99–5.41) 0.053 1.32 (0.64–2.71) 0.448
CKD 3.80 (0.82–17.66) 0.088 1.91 (0.72–5.05) 0.191
Smoking (Now) 1.62 (0.65–4.06) 0.304 0.85 (0.42–1.74) 0.661
Smoking (Past) 1.85 (0.61–5.64) 0.277 0.73 (0.33–1.63) 0.439
PVD 1.35 (0.14–12.84) 0.793 4.20 (1.50–11.72) 0.006 *
ACS 3.93 (0.76–20.40) 0.104 1.52 (0.61–3.80) 0.366
Hypertension 1.46 (0.36–5.87) 0.592 0.88 (0.38–2.06) 0.770
CKD = chronic kidney disease. PVD = peripheral vascular disease. ACS = acute coronary syndrome. * Statistically
significant results are highlighted in bold.

Male sex (aHR 1.93; 95% CI 1.09 to 3.41, p = 0.025) and peripheral vascular disease
(aHR 4.20; 95% CI 1.50 to 11.72, p = 0.006) were associated with pericarditis (Table 3). Post
COVID-19 infection was not associated with pericarditis (aHR 0.53; 95% CI 0.25 to 1.13, p = 0.1).

4. Discussion
In the current large population study of subjects, who were not vaccinated against
SARS-CoV-2, we observed no increase in the incidence of myocarditis or pericarditis from
day 10 after positive SARS-CoV-2.
Multivariable analysis did show male sex as associated with a higher risk of developing
myocarditis or pericarditis, regardless of previous COVID-19 infection.
COVID-19 infection is responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality at an
unprecedented scale globally. Cumulative scientific and clinical data is evolving on the
sub-acute and long-term effects of COVID-19 infection, which can affect multiple organ
systems. Recent studies suggest several mechanisms for the pathogenesis of the persistent
and prolonged signs and symptoms associated with the cardiovascular system.
Several earlier studies on SARS-CoV infections have highlighted the possible link
between types of coronavirus infections and immune-mediated responses [14,15].
Antibodies to Coronavirus-OC43 and 229E were found in patients diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis [16]. High and sustained levels of anti-erythrocyte autoantibodies were
found in mice infected with murine hepatitis Coronavirus [17].
Given the clinical similarities between SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses [18,19],
it is conceivable that immune-mediated tissue damage is also potentially induced by
SARS-CoV-2 infection. Molecular mimicry, activation of specific T cells to virus altered
self-proteins, and activation of B cells constitute a few examples of mechanisms mediating
the potential occurrence of myocarditis and pericarditis that could play a role in triggering
delayed cardiac inflammation [9]. Furthermore, in a recent study 309 COVID-19 patients
were tested for the presence of six different autoantibodies, such as anti-nuclear antibodies
and anti-Interferon-α2 antibodies, at least two months after the initial illness. In this study,
autoantibodies were associated with a higher risk of developing post-acute sequelae of
COVID-19 [20].
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, it was evident that COVID-19 patients with car-
diovascular comorbidities have worse prognosis and higher in-hospital mortality [21].
Individuals with underlying autoimmune diseases appear to be particularly vulnerable to
severe sequelae resulting from COVID-19 infection [22]. Other studies demonstrated that
severe COVID-19 disease is associated with robust inflammatory responses including type
two and hyper four hypersensitivity responses, resulting from overactivation of T cells
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 2219 8 of 10

and a subsequent cytokine storm [23,24]. Immune-mediated manifestations of COVID-19

include mimicry of autoimmune diseases like Kawasaki disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome,
vasculitis, myositis, and myocardial damage [25].
Puntmann et al. found a 78% cardiac involvement assessed by Cardiac Magnetic Reso-
nance Imaging (MRI) among patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 eight weeks
before enrollment [26], most of whom were asymptomatic or had just mild symptoms.
This study demonstrates cardiac inflammation independent of the severity of the initial
illness nor the overall course of the acute illness. A recent study showed an increased
risk of late cardiovascular outcomes in either symptomatic or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2
infection [27]. Thus, we also sought to investigate whether cardiac damage may also occur
regardless of the presence of corona-related symptoms. Further corroborating the potential
late inflammatory pericardial and myocardial involvement is an additional cardiovascu-
lar magnetic resonance (CMR) guided study demonstrating myocardial edema, fibrosis,
and impaired right ventricle function in 58% (16 of 25) patients recently recovering from
COVID-19 [28]. These studies are supported by an autopsy study pointing to the occur-
rence of mononuclear infiltrates in patients with COVID-19 infection [29]. However, an
important caveat to these studies is the lack of appropriate controls including patients with
other intercurrent viral infections.
Similar to our study, Xie et al. showed that individuals with COVID-19 infection are at
increased risk of cardiovascular complications 30 days after infection, including pericarditis
and myocarditis regardless of the need for hospitalization [30]. Comparable with our study,
the study population was tested for the risk of inflammatory heart diseases regardless of
previous SRAS-COV-2 vaccination. Yet, in contrast, in the study by Xie et al., the tested
cohort was homogenous, comprising of US Department of Veterans Affairs with male
predominance and young age. The difference in the population characteristics may explain
the dissimilarity between the results of the studies as young males are known to exhibit a
higher incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis.
Higher risk of myocarditis (risk ratio, 18.28; 95% CI, 3.95 to 25.12; risk difference,
11.0 events per 100,000 persons; 95% CI, 5.6 to 15.8) and pericarditis was observed in
a large population study of recently published by Barda et al. [12]. Although both our
study and the study by Barda et al. are based on Clalit Health Service patients, there are
several important differences between the studies. Barda et al. were focused on COVID-19
vaccination, and thus the matching was designed to neutralize vaccination-related factors,
while our study is on a non-vaccinated population. Barda et al. studied the occurrence
of myocarditis and pericarditis from positive PCR results up to 42 days, while we study
recovering patients starting 10 days after infection and for a significantly more prolonged
time. Barda et al.’s analysis also ignores the timing of myocarditis and pericarditis. Finally,
while Barda et al. have included many causes of myocarditis and pericarditis, we only
included acute myocarditis and pericarditis in hospitalized patients which is more likely to
be accurate.
Our current study has several limitations. First, although the potential number of par-
ticipants who were considered for inclusion was large, the number of cases of myocarditis
and pericarditis was small. This was mainly attributed to the limitation of a relatively short
follow-up period due to the initiation of the massive vaccination program. Second, we
included only cases of hospitalized myocarditis or pericarditis patients, whereas outpatient
medical records were excluded from the study. This could possibly omit a small number
of patients with mild disease. Furthermore, we included a diagnosis of myocarditis and
pericarditis according to the medical records, without access to patient-based information
regarding confirmation of the diagnosis.

5. Conclusions
Our data suggest that there is no increase in the incidence of myocarditis and peri-
carditis in COVID-19 recovered patients compared to uninfected matched controls. Further
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 2219 9 of 10

longer-term studies will be needed to estimate the incidence of pericarditis and myocarditis
in patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

Supplementary Materials: The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https:
//www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/jcm11082219/s1, Figure S1. Number of patients with positive
PCR in the COVID-19 cohort by month during the study period. Table S1. ICD-10 codes for cardiac
risk factors. Table S2. Crude and adjusted HRs for myocarditis. Table S3. Crude and adjusted HRs
for pericarditis.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, J.G.; Data curation, E.D.; Formal analysis, E.D. and
R.R.H.; Investigation, S.T., O.T. and D.H.; Methodology—E.D. and G.S.; Project administration, J.G.;
Supervision, A.A.; Validation, S.T. and J.G.; Writing–original draft, O.T.; Writing–review & editing,
S.T. and J.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration
of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Kaplan Medical Center (KMC-123-
2021), Date of approval 24 June 2021.
Informed Consent Statement: Patient consent was waived due to de-identified retrospective
cohort study.
Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study is available on request from the
corresponding author.
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank Galit Shefer for her assistance in research design,
The Clalit Research Institute for their assistance in data analysis and the Kaplan Medical Center Heart
team for their support.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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