Nearly everyone has had COVID by now. If you got it early, you probably got it worse than others, but not necessarily. Many people have suffered, and many people have continued to suffer. Long COVID has recently be shown to have blood abnormalities (we knew that ages ago) that can prove “it’s not in your head”. But more than that, every time one gets COVID, there’s a risk that bad things will happen – and persist. Here’s a study that shows that if you get COVID you have 1.50 times the risk of having hypertension (high blood pressure) then if you didn’t get COVID, but if you were hospitalized for COVID, the risk of HBP goes up to 2.2x’s. We’ve said this is a blood vessel disease, and this just bears it out.
Don’t assume that everything is fine if you have COVID and you get over it. Even Long COVID can be delayed by a couple of months! Don’t assume – follow up with your doctor and make sure other problems don’t develop.
Incidence of New-Onset Hypertension Post–COVID-19: Comparison With Influenza
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
SARS-CoV-2 may trigger new-onset persistent hypertension. This study investigated the incidence and risk factors associated with new-onset persistent hypertension during COVID-19 hospitalization and at ≈6-month follow-up compared with influenza.
METHODS:
This retrospective observational study was conducted in a major academic health system in New York City. Participants included 45 398 patients with COVID-19 (March 2020 to August 2022) and 13 864 influenza patients (January 2018 to August 2022) without a history of hypertension.
RESULTS:
At 6-month follow-up, new-onset persistent hypertension was seen in 20.6% of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and 10.85% of nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19. Persistent hypertension incidence among hospitalized patients did not vary across the pandemic, whereas that of hospitalized patients decreased from 20% in March 2020 to ≈10% in October 2020 (R2=0.79, P=0.003) and then plateaued thereafter. Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were 2.23 ([95% CI, 1.48–3.54]; P<0.001) times and nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19 were 1.52 ([95% CI, 1.22–1.90]; P<0.01) times more likely to develop persistent hypertension than influenza counterparts. Persistent hypertension was more common among older adults, males, Black, patients with preexisting comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease), and those who were treated with pressor and corticosteroid medications. Mathematical models predicted persistent hypertension with 79% to 86% accuracy. In addition, 21.0% of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 with no prior hypertension developed hypertension during COVID-19 hospitalization.
CONCLUSIONS:
Incidence of new-onset persistent hypertension in patients with COVID-19 is higher than those with influenza, likely constituting a major health burden given the sheer number of patients with COVID-19. Screening at-risk patients for hypertension following COVID-19 illness may be warranted.