COVID-19 Can Trigger New Onset High Blood Pressure

A new study published in the journal Hypertension finds that SARS-CoV-2 infection is significantly associated with the development of high blood pressure in adults with pre-existing heart conditions or in those who were older, African-American or male

An analysis of the electronic medical records of more than 45,000 people found that COVID-19 infection was significantly associated with the development of high blood pressure, according to new research published in Hypertension , a journal of the American Heart Association.

“While COVID-19 is typically more severe in patients with pre-existing 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 can trigger the disease.” development of high blood pressure or worsening pre-existing hypertension,” said the study’s senior author, Tim Q. Duong, Ph.D., professor of radiology and vice chair of radiology research and associate director of Integrative Imaging and Data Science at the Center for Health and Data Innovation at Albert Einstein. Montefiore School of Medicine and Health System in New York City.

This retrospective observational study is the first to investigate the development and risk factors associated with persistent high blood pressure in people with COVID-19 infection compared to influenza, a similar respiratory virus. According to the 2017 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults, hypertension is classified with upper and lower numbers greater than or equal to 130/80 mm Hg.

Health data were analyzed from electronic medical records at the Montefiore Health System in Bronx, New York, which serves a large racially and ethnically diverse population. The study included 45,398 people with COVID-19, hospitalized between March 1, 2020 and February 20, 2022, and 13,864 people with influenza without COVID-19, hospitalized between January 2018 and February 20, 2022. 2022, who returned to the hospital system for any medical reason within an average follow-up period of six months.

The analysis found:

• 21% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 11% of those not hospitalized for COVID-19 developed high blood pressure, compared to 16% of people hospitalized with influenza and 4% of those not They were hospitalized for influenza.
   
• People hospitalized with COVID-19 were more than twice as likely and those not hospitalized were 1.5 times more likely to develop persistent hypertension compared to hospitalized and non-hospitalized people with influenza, respectively.
   
• People infected with SARS-CoV-2 who were over 40 years old, Black adults, or those with preexisting conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, or chronic kidney disease, were at elevated risk of developing high blood pressure .
   
• Persistent high blood pressure was more common among people infected with SARS-CoV-2 who were treated with vasopressor medications and corticosteroids during the pandemic.

“Given the large number of people affected by COVID-19 compared to influenza, these statistics are alarming and suggest that many more patients are likely to develop high blood pressure in the future, which may represent a significant public health burden.” Duong said. “These findings should increase awareness to screen patients at risk for hypertension after COVID-19 illness to enable earlier identification and treatment of hypertension-related complications, such as cardiovascular and kidney disease.”

The authors noted that people in the study were primarily from communities with low socioeconomic status , which may increase their susceptibility to developing high blood pressure after COVID-19 infection. Other factors may also have contributed to the development of high blood pressure in the study patients, including the effects of isolation, psychosocial stress, reduced physical activity, unhealthy diet, and weight gain during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers also noted that longer follow-up studies will be needed to determine whether the effects of COVID-19-related complications on the heart and blood pressure regulation can resolve on their own, or if there may be lasting effects on the heart. cardiovascular system of patients.

Limitations of the study included that the findings were limited to people who interacted with the health system during the follow-up period and who might be more likely to have severe COVID-19; the possibility that some patients had undiagnosed high blood pressure; the possibility that vaccine status, which could affect the severity of COVID-19 illness, may not have been recorded in the healthcare system’s database if COVID-19 vaccines were administered outside the system ; and the potential for unintended patient selection bias in a retrospective analysis.