Anti-hypertensive medication could reduce the severity of COVID-19 and improve survival rates, new UK research claims today.
Research led by scientists at the University of East Anglia found that the risk of severe COVID-19 illness and death was reduced among patients with high blood pressure who took Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARB).
The study, which also involved the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, analysed 19 studies related to COVID-19 and ACEi and ARB medications, with meta-analysis involving more than 28,000 patients, making it the largest and most detailed such study to date.
Writing in the latest edition of Current Atherosclerosis Reports, the research team compared data from COVID-19 patients who took ACEi or ARB medications with those who did not, focusing on whether they were admitted to intensive care and invasive or non-invasive ventilation, or died.
They found that COVID-19 patients with high blood pressure who were taking ACEi/ARB medications were 0.67 times less likely to have a critical or fatal outcome than those not taking these medications.
Lead researcher Dr Vassilios Vassiliou, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “We found that a third of COVID-19 patients with high blood pressure and a quarter of patients overall were taking an ACEi/ARBs.
“This is likely due to the increasing risk of infection in patients with co-morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and diabetes.
“But the really important thing that we showed was that there is no evidence that these medications might increase the severity of COVID-19 or risk of death.
"On the contrary, we found that there was a significantly lower risk of death and critical outcomes, so they might in fact have a protective role – particularly in patients with hypertension.
“Our research provides substantial evidence to recommend continued use of these medications if the patients were taking them already.
“However, we are not able to address whether starting such tablets acutely in patients with COVID-19 might improve their prognosis, as the mechanism of action might be different," he added.
Baral R, White M, Vassilou V et al. Effect of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System inhibitors in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 28,872 patients. Current Atherosclerosis Reports 24 August 2020.
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