Blood Pressure Meds and COVID-19

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Anchor lead: Do certain blood pressure medicines increase risk for COVID-19? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Blood pressure medicines known by the acronyms ACE inhibitors and ARBs were thought to increase risk for those infected with SARS-CoV2. Enid Neptune, a lung and critical care medicine expert at Johns Hopkins, comments.

Neptune: Based on the data we have now it does not look like these drugs worsen or increase your risk of actually developing an infection or the virulence of the infection.   :10

Neptune says because these medicines target the same receptor SARS-CoV2 does, they may actually be helpful.

Neptune:  What we’re trying to determine is whether there are protective pathways that are engaged by these drugs. There’s some evidence that these medications can actually improve some of the protective pathways for a lung disease.  We really want to see if that’s in fact the case for viruses or lung injury syndromes that are similar to what we’re seeing with COVID-19.  :26

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.