Your High Blood Pressure Might Be Due to COVID-19
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have determined that a frequent symptom of COVID-19 infection these days is hypertension or high blood pressure. While the virus has been known to create flu-like symptoms, the researchers point out that elevated blood pressure is an even more common symptom.
Professor Tim Q. Duong, PhD, the leader of the study, points out that COVID symptoms have been known to be typically more severe among patients with a preexisting condition of hypertension. They set out to determine if the infection actually triggers a spike in blood pressure among infected patients.
The study involved analyzing more than 45,000 COVID-19 patients drawn from the Montefiore Health System in the New York metropolitan area. Data were collected during both COVID-19 admission and at time of follow-up, which was within 3 to 9 months following a positive COVID-19 test.
According to the results, 21% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 developed high blood pressure compared with 16% of those hospitalized with influenza. Moreover, the researchers found that patients with COVID-19 infection were notably more likely to develop persistent hypertension compared with those infected by influenza. Patients with COVID-19 who were over 40 years old, Black, and had preexisting conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or coronary artery disease, had a higher risk of developing high blood pressure.
“Given the sheer number of people affected by COVID-19 compared [with] influenza, these statistics are alarming and suggest that many more patients will likely develop high blood pressure in the future, which may present a major public health burden,” Dr. Duong said. “These findings should heighten awareness to screen at-risk patients for hypertension after COVID-19 illness to enable earlier identification and treatment for hypertension-related complications, such as cardiovascular and kidney disease.”