NEW DELHI: Medication for high blood pressure can improve Covid-19 survival rates, and reduce the severity of new coronavirus infection, especially in patients with hypertension, according to a study.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK studied 28,000 patients taking antihypertensives – a class of medicines used to treat hypertension or high blood pressure.
The study, published in the journal Current Atherosclerosis Reports, found that the risk of serious illness and death from Covid-19 was reduced for patients with high blood pressure who were taking Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEi) or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs).
“We know that patients with cardiovascular disease are at particular risk of severe Covid-19 infection,” said lead researcher Vassilios Vassiliou, of the UEA’s Norwich Medical School.
“But at the beginning of the pandemic, there were concerns that specific medications for high blood pressure could be linked to worse outcomes for Covid-19 patients,” Vassiliou said.
The researchers, including those from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, analyzed the effects of these medications on people with Covid-19.
They studied the outcomes for patients taking antihypertensives, and looked in particular at what are called ‘critical’ outcomes, such as being admitted to intensive care or being put on a ventilator, and death.
The team analyzed data from 19 studies related to Covid-19 and ACEi and ARB medication. The researchers noted that their meta-analysis involved more than 28,000 patients and is the largest and most detailed such study to date.
They compared data from Covid-19 patients taking ACEi or ARB medication with those who were not – and focused on whether they experienced ‘critical’ events and death.
“We found that a third of Covid-19 patients with high blood pressure and a quarter of patients generally took ACEi / ARBs. This is likely due to the increasing risk of infection in patients with co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease. , hypertension and diabetes, ”said Vassiliou.
“But the really important thing we showed was that there is no evidence that these medications can increase the severity of Covid-19 as a risk of death,” he said.
Conversely, the researchers found that there was a significantly lower risk of death and critical outcomes, so that they may in fact play a protective role – especially in patients with hypertension.
Covid-19 patients with high blood pressure who took ACEi / ARB medication were 0.67 times less likely to have a critical or fatal outcome than those who did not take these medications, according to the study.
“Our research provides substantial evidence to recommend continued use of these drugs if the patients are already taking them,” Vassiliou said.
“However, we are unable to address whether such tablets starting acutely in patients with Covid-19 may improve their prognosis because the mechanism of action may be different,” he added.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK studied 28,000 patients taking antihypertensives – a class of medicines used to treat hypertension or high blood pressure.
The study, published in the journal Current Atherosclerosis Reports, found that the risk of serious illness and death from Covid-19 was reduced for patients with high blood pressure who were taking Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEi) or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs).
“We know that patients with cardiovascular disease are at particular risk of severe Covid-19 infection,” said lead researcher Vassilios Vassiliou, of the UEA’s Norwich Medical School.
“But at the beginning of the pandemic, there were concerns that specific medications for high blood pressure could be linked to worse outcomes for Covid-19 patients,” Vassiliou said.
The researchers, including those from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, analyzed the effects of these medications on people with Covid-19.
They studied the outcomes for patients taking antihypertensives, and looked in particular at what are called ‘critical’ outcomes, such as being admitted to intensive care or being put on a ventilator, and death.
The team analyzed data from 19 studies related to Covid-19 and ACEi and ARB medication. The researchers noted that their meta-analysis involved more than 28,000 patients and is the largest and most detailed such study to date.
They compared data from Covid-19 patients taking ACEi or ARB medication with those who were not – and focused on whether they experienced ‘critical’ events and death.
“We found that a third of Covid-19 patients with high blood pressure and a quarter of patients generally took ACEi / ARBs. This is likely due to the increasing risk of infection in patients with co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease. , hypertension and diabetes, ”said Vassiliou.
“But the really important thing we showed was that there is no evidence that these medications can increase the severity of Covid-19 as a risk of death,” he said.
Conversely, the researchers found that there was a significantly lower risk of death and critical outcomes, so that they may in fact play a protective role – especially in patients with hypertension.
Covid-19 patients with high blood pressure who took ACEi / ARB medication were 0.67 times less likely to have a critical or fatal outcome than those who did not take these medications, according to the study.
“Our research provides substantial evidence to recommend continued use of these drugs if the patients are already taking them,” Vassiliou said.
“However, we are unable to address whether such tablets starting acutely in patients with Covid-19 may improve their prognosis because the mechanism of action may be different,” he added.
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