Medication for the high blood pressure may improve COVID-19 survival rates, and reduce the severity of novel coronavirus infection, particularly 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 drugs that are used to treat hypertension or high blood pressure.
The study, published in the journal Current Atherosclerosis Reports, found that the risk of severe COVID-19 illness and death was reduced for patients with high blood pressure who were taking Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARB).
We know that patients with cardiovascular diseases are at particular risk of severe Covid-19 infection,” said lead researcher Vassilios Vassiliou, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School.
But at the start of the pandemic, there was concern that specific medications for high blood pressure could be linked with worse outcomes for COVID-19 patients,” Vassiliou said.
The researchers, including those from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, analyzed what the impact of these medications is for people with COVID-19.
