Every now and again, a headline comes along that threatens to retire The Babylon Bee.
"Heart attacks were once thought of as a disease of age - but worrying new data shows they are increasing in healthy young adults," the Daily Mail reported, noting a 66% increase in heart attacks among Americans aged 18-44, and that "one in five heart attack patients are now younger than 40."
The Daily Mail noted that "a number of factors are thought to be at play including rampant drug use, obesity, sedentary lifestyles and bad diets," but that "the timing strongly implies the Covid pandemic has played a role."
You're ... almost ... there.
"The virus itself causes widespread inflammation in the body that can damage the heart or lead to blood clots. Depression, anxiety and stress also surged among young people during lockdowns - and all three have been linked to heart attacks," the report continued.
And then we get to the heart of the issue.
Studies have shown that, once in the body, the virus can cause the heart to become inflamed, a condition known as myocarditis, leading to damage that makes it harder to pump blood around the body.
Over time, in extreme cases, this can damage the organ to the point it becomes too weak to adequately pump enough blood to the rest of your body, causing heart failure.
The Covid vaccines made by Pfzier and Moderna have also been shown to cause heart inflammation in rare cases, specifically young men and boys.
But real-world research has shown the risk of having this reaction to a vaccine is much lower than the risk you take not getting vaccinated in the first place - because severe Covid is much more likely to damage the heart.
Notice the all-too-familiar blurring of details around "risk," ignoring pesky details like risk variation based on health and age. There's also no insight into how many people having these heart attacks were vaccinated.
After all, let's not get too close to the truth!
Of course, the replies were gold.
Personally, I blame racism.
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