People who have high blood pressure may be twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than those without the medical condition, according to research. Scientists have said the risk is even greater among patients who are not taking medication to control hypertension.
The risk of death among those with high blood pressure was found to vary depending on the antihypertensive treatment the patients were receiving. However, the researchers said this result “should be interpreted cautiously”, adding that “patients should not discontinue or change their normal, antihypertensive treatment” unless advised by their doctor.
The findings, reported in the European Heart Journal, are based on data from nearly 3,000 hospital patients in Wuhan, China.
Patients with high blood pressure or hypertension are at a “two-fold increased risk” of dying from Covid-19 compared to those who don’t, a study published in the peer-reviewed European Heart Journal has concluded.
The study was conducted by researchers in China and Ireland, who analysed data from 2,877 Covid-19 patients admitted at Huo Shen Shan hospital in Wuhan, China, between 5 February and 15 March. Wuhan is the town where Covid-19 was first reported towards the end of 2019. It was published in the European Heart Journal, the flagship publication of the European Society of Cardiology, on 4 June.
The hospital in question was opened on 5 February exclusively to treat coronavirus patients. Of the patients, 29.5 per cent (850) had a medical history of high blood pressure (hypertension).
The researchers, led by Professors Fei Li and Ling Tao from China’s Xijing Hospital, found that 34 of the 850 hypertensive Covid-19 patients (4 per cent) died, compared to 22 out of 2,027 patients without hypertension (1.1 per cent) a “two-fold increased risk” after adjustment for other factors that could affect the results, such as age, sex and other medical conditions, the study says.
The aim of the study was to infer if the treatment of hypertension influences the mortality of patients diagnosed with Covid-19.
“It is important that patients with high blood pressure realize that they are at increased risk of dying from COVID-19,” lead researcher Fei Li, a professor in the Department of Cardiology at Xijing Hospital, said in a statement. “They should take good care of themselves during this pandemic and they need more attention if they are infected with the coronavirus.”Among patients with high blood pressure who weren’t taking their medication, 8% died compared to 3% who were taking their medication, the study said.The study recommended people taking blood pressure medication continue to do so, unless their doctor tells them otherwise.That finding was significant because researchers have worried the blood pressure drugs known as ACE inhibitors and ARBs might make people more vulnerable to COVID-19.
"We were quite surprised that these results did not support our initial hypothesis; in fact, the results were in the opposite direction, with a trend in favor of ACE inhibitors and ARBs,” Ling Tao, one of the research leaders, said in a statement. “We think this is exactly why practice based on clinical evidence is more vital than ever."
Hypertension affects blood circulation in the body, which also affects the circulation inside lungs, making it easier for the virus to penetrate.This is the reason that cases with high BP are more vulnerable.
Patients not taking BP medicines at greater risk
Among the patients with hypertension who were not taking medication for the condition, 11 out 140 (7.9 per cent) died from coronavirus compared to 23 out of 710 (3.2 per cent) of those who were taking medication a 2.17-fold increased risk after adjusting for confounding factors.
There were 140 patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 who had discontinued their anti-hypertensive treatment due to various reasons. We found that this was associated with a greater risk of dying from the coronavirus.
These drugs include angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Other, non-RAAS inhibiting drugs used for treating high blood pressure include beta blockers, calcium channel blockers (CCBs) or diuretics.
According to the study, the researchers found a lower risk of death among the 183 patients treated with RAAS inhibitors than in 527 patients treated with other drugs.
The researchers also said in the study that BP patients should not discontinue their medicines, unless advised specifically by their physician.
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