BP Medicines & Covid19 Mortality Rate Linked: New Study
According to a review of studies that say in some COVID-19 patients who have other diseases, protection may be offered by drugs treating the underlying disease as a greater risk of dying from novel coronavirus infection is posed to patients with high blood pressure who are not taking medication to control the condition.
In the European Heart Journal, the research was published. The researchers noted that when compared to the patients without the underlying disease, there is a two-fold increased risk of dying from the novel coronavirus infection in patients with elevated blood pressure. Between February 5 and March 15, from 2,866 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to Huo Shen Shan hospital in China, data was assessed by the scientists in the study included those from Xijing Hospital in China. The scientists said that a medical history of hypertension or high blood pressure was seen in nearly 30 percent of these patients (850).
Ling Tao and Fei Li from Xijing Hospital led the study and according to it, 22 out of 2027 patients without hypertension (1.1 percent) with coronavirus died compared to 34 out of 850 hypertensive patients (4 percent). After
the scientists adjusted for several health-related factors that could affect the results, such as age, sex, and other medical conditions, they said this was a 2.12-fold increased risk of dying from the disease.The study showed the 2.17-fold increased risk after adjusting for confounding factors as 23 out of 710 (3.2 percent) people who were taking medication died from coronavirus while 11 out 140 people (nearly 8 percent) among the patients with hypertension who were not taking medication for the condition died from COVID-19.
The scientists examined the death rates in patients being treated with drugs to control blood pressure levels which targeted the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) of the human body after analyzing data from nearly 2,300 patients in three other studies. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) or angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors were included in these drugs they said. The performance of other drugs such as diuretics, calcium channel blockers (CCBs), or beta-blockers, the non-RAAS inhibiting drugs, were also assessed by the scientists.
The researchers found in their analysis that than in 527 patients treated with other drugs, there was a lower risk of death among the 183 patients treated with RAAS inhibitors.
However, they said that this result could be due to chance as the number of patients in this analysis was small, and the result should be treated with caution.
Li said, “It is crucial for patients having high blood pressure to understand that they face a higher risk of dying from the novel coronavirus. If they are infected with the virus, they need more attention and during this pandemic, they should take good care of themselves.”
The scientists said, “The RAAS inhibitors, such as angiotensin receptor blockers or ACE inhibitors were found to not be linked to an increased risk of dying from COVID-19 and could be protective instead, contrary to the initial hypothesis. They suggested that unless instructed by a physician, patients should not stop using or change their usual antihypertensive treatment. They said it is too early to make clinical recommendations based on these results as the assessed study looked at data from observations in the hospital and was not based on a randomized controlled clinical trial.”
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BP Medicines & Covid19 Mortality Rate Linked
