A new study has found that the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine is associated with a reduced risk of serious heart complications in U.S. veterans. Researchers reported that those who received the updated vaccine experienced fewer COVID-related cardiovascular events compared to those who did not.

Major adverse cardiovascular events, or MACE, include serious outcomes such as cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke, and hospitalization for heart failure. The findings showed a measurable decline in several of these conditions among vaccinated participants.

The study analyzed records from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, comparing nearly 350,000 veterans who received both the flu and COVID vaccines on the same day against about 700,000 who received only the flu shot.

In total, more than one million veterans were included, with an average age around 70. Roughly 92% of the participants were male, according to a press release detailing the research.

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Over an eight-month period, those who received the 2024–2025 COVID vaccine saw a relative vaccine effectiveness of 37.7% against COVID-associated MACE. The vaccine was linked to a 57.9% lower risk of cardiovascular death, a 38.5% lower risk of heart attack, and a 41.9% lower risk of hospitalization for heart failure. The effect on stroke was not considered statistically significant.

Participants aged 75 and older appeared to benefit the most, with vaccine effectiveness estimated at 50.7% for preventing COVID-associated heart events. Researchers emphasized, however, that the study was observational and could not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship between vaccination and reduced cardiovascular risk.

Dr. Glenn Hirsch, a cardiologist at National Jewish Health in Denver, said the results were “not overall surprising” during an interview with Fox News Digital. He noted that the findings align with earlier research on vaccines showing a protective effect against cardiovascular events.

Hirsch explained that infections such as COVID-19 can increase inflammation in the body, which raises the risk of blood clots and plaque rupture in arteries. He said that vaccines help by preventing or reducing the severity of infection, which in turn limits inflammation and the subsequent risk of cardiovascular complications.

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He also pointed out that the benefit observed in this study was smaller than that reported in earlier research. He suggested that recent COVID variants tend to cause milder illness, while prior infections may also provide some baseline immunity, reducing the differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.

Declining COVID testing rates further complicate efforts to clearly link heart-related events to coronavirus infections, Hirsch explained.

“The bottom line [is] that there is still evidence of benefit from COVID-19 vaccination like many other infectious disease vaccinations, and people should be encouraged to discuss these with their healthcare team annually,” he said.

Hirsch cautioned that observational studies can be influenced by confounding factors and that potential adverse effects were not examined in this particular analysis. Even so, he described the observed cardiovascular benefit as consistent with what has been seen in prior vaccine research.

The study adds to ongoing evidence exploring how vaccines can protect not just against infection, but also against some of the broader health complications linked to infectious diseases.