Yet another study has highlighted the cardiovascular benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, particularly among older adults and people with underlying health conditions.A new study involving nearly one million people, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, found that COVID vaccination reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events associated with the virus—including heart attacks, strokes, and hospitalizations due to heart disease—by about 40 per cent.The protective effect was most pronounced among adults aged 75 years and older, as well as individuals with pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic lung disease.The findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that COVID vaccines offer benefits beyond preventing severe infection.Researchers also found that vaccination modestly reduced the risk of cardiovascular events, hospitalizations, and deaths from all causes, including those not directly linked to COVID."Extrapolating these estimates to a population of one million people, vaccination could plausibly be associated with averting approximately 2,370 major cardiovascular events and 1,580 deaths over an eight-month period," the study noted."It tells us that these vaccines have actually brought beneficial effects even in people who don't really know that they have contracted COVID-19," said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, physician-scientist and senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis and co-author of the study, the Washington Post reported.What Did the Study Find?Also read: Trying to Quit Tobacco? Yoga Could Improve Your Chances, Suggests StudySeveral previous studies have shown that COVID vaccination lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes. However, researchers wanted to determine whether those benefits continued in the years after the onset of the pandemic, especially as both the virus and vaccine formulations evolved."Vaccine formulations have changed, and also the virus itself has changed over time," Al-Aly said. "But we found that the more recent vaccine formulations still protected against heart conditions."The study analyzed nearly one million veterans receiving care through the US Department of Veterans Affairs health system between 2024 and 2025.The participants were divided into two groups: individuals who received only the seasonal influenza vaccine and those who received both the flu vaccine and the updated COVID-19 vaccine during the same season. The analysis included multiple vaccine types, including mRNA vaccines and the Novavax vaccine.Lower Risk of Heart ConditionsRead More: South Korea Achieves 62% Blood Pressure Control Rate: What Other Countries Can LearnParticipants were followed for approximately eight months. The results showed that people who received a COVID vaccine had a 37.7 per cent lower risk of developing COVID-associated cardiovascular complications.Vaccinated individuals were also about 6 per cent less likely to experience severe cardiovascular events overall, including those not directly linked to COVID-19 infection.In addition, vaccination was associated with:A 7 per cent reduction in all-cause hospitalizationsA 7 per cent reduction in all-cause mortalityFewer severe cardiovascular events overallWhile these percentages may appear modest, researchers emphasized that the public health impact is substantial.According to Al-Aly, for every 10,000 people vaccinated, the findings translate into preventing approximately:23 major cardiovascular events30 hospitalizations16 deathsBenefits Outweigh RiskCOVID-19 vaccines have previously been linked to rare cases of myocarditis and pericarditis, conditions involving inflammation of the heart muscle and its surrounding lining.However, experts note that these cases are uncommon and generally mild. Public health authorities continue to maintain that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks.