High blood pressure drugs can reduce Covid-19 mortality, according to a new study. Findings eased concerns that those drugs can worsen Covid-19.
Drugs taken to manage high blood pressure may help protect people against severe Covid-19. The study, published in the European Heart Journal, investigated patients with high blood pressure and have twice the risk of death. They were among those who more lilkely need mechanical ventilation to breathe easily, compare to those without hypertension.
In the study, patients taking any type of drug to manage their blood pressure manifested a significantly lower risk of death from Covid-19 than those not treated for their hypertension
The researchers observed around 2,900 patients admitted in February and March at Huo Shen Shan Hospital in Wuhan, China, the original epicenter of the pandemic.
Having taken into account data from prior studies, the researchers discovered a link between blood pressure drugs from the classes known as ACE inhibitors and ARBs in particular and a lower risk of death from Covid-19.
Several papers claimed that the drugs may heighten Covid-19 susceptibility.
“We were quite surprised that these results did not support our initial hypothesis; in fact, the results were in the opposite direction, with a trend in favor of ACE inhibitors and ARBs,” said coauthor Fei Li of Xijing Hospital in Xi’an, China.
For the time being, “we suggest that patients should not discontinue or change their usual antihypertensive treatment unless instructed by a physician,” Li said.
Meanwhile, the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and Heart Failure Society of America said that that patients should take the hypertension drugs prescribed to them.
Coronavirus vaccine
Experts agree that a coronavirus vaccine would still be the best solution to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
While some say that developing a vaccine could take 12 to 18 months, a coronavirus vaccine by December is “conceivable,” according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“I think it is conceivable, if we don’t run into things that are, as they say, unanticipated setbacks, that we could have a vaccine that we could be beginning to deploy at the end of this calendar year, December 2020, or into January, 2021,” he said in an interview with “Morning Edition.”
“When you’re dealing with vaccines there could be so many things that get in the way like it might not be entirely effective,” he added. “And you wouldn’t want to deploy a vaccine that’s not effective and certainly not one that’s not safe.”
Fauci’s statements came four days after US biotech company Moderna announced some positive progress from its phase one human trial on its potential vaccine. The National Institutes of Health has collaborated with Moderna to speed up the development of a vaccine.
No compromise
According to him, scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases are gathering information so that they can submit it to a peer-reviewed journal in a “couple of weeks.”
He also noted that the potential vaccine is on “an accelerated pace.” However, he stressed that researchers will not compromise safety or care.
Dr. Fauci revealed that researchers are simultaneously conducting multiple stages of research to accelerate the development process.
“The risk is not to the patient because the safety and the scientific integrity is intact,” he said. “The risk is to the investment and we feel that it’s important enough to make those investments in order to save months.”
