Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors Usage is Associated with Improved Inflammatory Status and Clinical Outcomes in COVID-19 Patients With Hypertension

Guang Yang; Zihu Tan; Ling Zhou; Min Yang; Lang Peng; Jinjin Liu; Jingling Cai; Ru Yang; Junyan Han; Yafei Huang; Shaobin He

COVID-19 patients with hypertension appeared to have a higher death rate and were more frequently seen in severe cases. 17 We also examined the death rate and the incidence of critical cases in our cohort. Compared with non-hypertension controls, COVID-19 patients with hypertension had a higher death rate ( [14 of 125] ), but these differences failed to reach statistical significance. However, we did find that patients remained in hospital had a significantly longer disease course in COVID-19 patients with hypertension than those without (36.7±12.4 vs 31.6±7.7; p=0.024). Therefore, our results, together with those from other groups, provided ample evidence that hypertension is a critical risk factor for the poor clinical outcome of COVID-19 patients. Indeed, this notion was further supported by laboratory testing results. COVID-19 patients with hypertension had much lower blood oxygen index (p<0.001), as well as higher blood urea (p=0.020) and ALT (p=0.022) than those without hypertension.