Dicardiology.com A new study in the AHA journal Hypertension finds SARS-CoV-2 infection is significantly associated with the development of high blood pressure in adults with preexisting heart conditions or those who were older, black or male.
An analysis of electronic medical records for more than 45,000 people found that COVID-19 infection was significantly associated with the development of high blood pressure, according to newly-published research in Hypertension, an American Heart Association (AHA) journal.
An AHA news summary reporting the findings from “Incidence of New-Onset Hypertension Post–COVID-19: Comparison with Influenza,” noted two additional key research highlights: People with COVID-19 infection and no history of high blood pressure were significantly more likely to develop persistent high blood pressure compared to people with the influenza virus; also, notably, people with COVID-19 who are over age 40, men, black adults or those with preexisting conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease or chronic kidney disease, had an elevated risk of developing high blood pressure, according to the study.
“While COVID-19 is typically more severe in patients with preexisting high blood pressure, including higher rates of hospitalization and mortality compared to people with normal blood pressure, it is unknown whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus may trigger the development of high blood pressure or worsen preexisting hypertension,” said senior study author Tim Q. Duong, Ph.D., professor of radiology and vice chair for radiology research and associate director of Integrative Imaging and Data Science at the Center for Health and Data Innovation (CHDI) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System in New York City.
“Given the sheer number of people affected by COVID-19 compared to 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,” Duong said. He added, “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.”