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Medicine for high blood pressure might improve COVID-19 survival rates, and reduce the seriousness of novel coronavirus disease, especially in patients with hypertension, according to a study.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK analyzed 28,000 patients taking antihypertensives — a category of drugs which are used to treat hypertension or high blood pressure.
The analysis, published in the journal Current Atherosclerosis Reports, found that the risk of acute COVID-19 illness and death was decreased for patients with high blood pressure who were carrying Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARB).
“We know that patients with cardiovascular disorders are at particular risk of acute Covid-19 infection,” said lead researcher Vassilios Vassiliou, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School.
“However, at the start of the pandemic, there was concern that specific medications for hypertension could be linked with worse outcomes for COVID-19 patients,” Vassiliou said.
The researchers, including those from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, analysed what the effects of these medications is for individuals with COVID-19.
They studied the outcomes for individuals taking antihypertensives, looking particularly at what is called’critical’ outcomes such as being admitted to intensive care or being put on a ventilator, and departure.
The team analysed data from 19 studies related to COVID-19 and ACEi and ARB medications. The researchers noted that their meta-analysis involved more than 28,000 patients and is the largest and most detailed such study thus far.
They compared information from COVID-19 patients that had been carrying ACEi or ARB drugs with those who were not — focusing on whether they experienced’critical’ events and passing.
“We discovered that a third of COVID-19 patients having higher blood pressure and a quarter of patients overall were carrying an ACEi/ARBs. This is probably because of the rising risk of infection in patients with co-morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and diabetes,” said Vassiliou.
“However, the really important thing that we showed was that there isn’t any evidence that these medications might increase the severity of COVID-19 or danger of passing,” he said.
To the contrary, the investigators found there was a significantly lower chance of death and critical outcomes, so they might actually have a protective role — especially in patients with hypertension.
COVID-19 patients with hypertension who were carrying ACEi/ARB medications were 0.67 times less likely to have a serious or fatal consequence than those not taking these medications, according to the study.
“Our research provides considerable evidence to recommend continued use of these drugs in case the patients were carrying them already,” said Vassiliou.
“But we’re unable to address whether beginning these tablets acutely in patients with Covid-19 might enhance their prognosis, since the mechanism of action might differ,” he added.
