There have been growing concerns among the blood pressure patients who were classified as high risk cases for coronavirus infection. Some were even apprehensive about taking BP medicines.
However, a new study involving over 12500 patients has found that taking high blood pressure medicines did not increase the risk of getting covid-19
Led by scientists from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study found no links between treatment with four drug classes—angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, or calcium channel blockers—and increased likelihood of COVID-19.
They also found that there was no substantial increase in risk for more severe illness (intensive care, use of a ventilator, or death) with any of the treatments in patients with the pandemic virus.
“With nearly half of American adults having high blood pressure, and heart disease patients more vulnerable to COVID-19, understanding the relationship between these commonly used medications and COVID-19 was a critical public health concern,” says lead investigator Harmony Reynolds, MD, associate director of the Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center at NYU Langone Health.
“Our findings should reassure the medical community and patients about the continued use of these commonly prescribed medications, which prevent potentially severe heart events in their own right.”
