Posted on 04/10/2020 5:53:56 AM PDT by tired&retired
Ralph Baric, PhD, perked up when he saw that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 illness, enters the lungs through ACE2 receptors, and that people with hypertension have worse outcomes than those with any other underlying condition.
"I've thought it needed to be explored in more detail for quite a while," said Baric, a professor of epidemiology, microbiology, and immunology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who has been studying coronavirus outbreaks for decades.
Researchers and doctors are trying to determine whether the spike in serious COVID-19 illness in those with baseline hypertension is a coincidence of age and general ill health, or if it speaks to the role ACE2 receptors play in both hypertension and COVID-19 infection. And if there is an association, they want to know whether ACE inhibitors help or hurt people at highest risk for severe COVID-19 disease.
During the same session, Zunyou Wu, MD, PhD, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, presented data showing that more than 40% of people with severe infection had baseline hypertension.
Reinin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibitors, which include ACE inhibitors, cause an increase in the expression of ACE2 receptors, according to a recent comment in Nature Reviews Cardiology.
"The safety and potential effects of antihypertension therapy with ACE inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers in patients with COVID-19 should be carefully considered," write the Chinese researchers.
If there is an association between ACE inhibitors and the virus, "we might be able to reduce the risk of fatal COVID-19 courses in many patients by temporarily replacing these drugs," they write.
"There is probably some direct relationship to the level of ACE2 expression and disease severity," he said. "And it probably plays some role in the age-related" severity trends we've seen in COVID-19.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicinenet.com ...
I returned from Southeast Asia February 26th and had a physical on March 1 with high blood pressure. I have never had high blood pressure in my life. It went away and I did nothing.
I had extreme symptoms after spending the Chinese New Year celebrating in packed Chinatown, Bangkok Thailand.
Dry cough and shortness of breath was horrible. I took Benadryl and Ibuprofen with no help.
But due to heading into remote Thailand and Laos by extensive travel on the Mekong River, I started taking anti malaria medication for the next 5 weeks of travel.
The dry cough and shortness of breath cleared up and did not return.
The sudden high blood pressure surprised me and my Dr. wanted to put me on medication it was so high. I said no. One week later it was normal with no medication and has remained normal ever since.
Just wow.
I don’t know about the high blood pressure but there’s steam coming out of my ears.
I want to get the antibody test soon.
There is absolutely no evidence that anyone should stop their blood pressure or heart failure medications thad include ace inhibitors or ace receptor blockers but doing so could put your health in immediate jeopardy. Do not stop medication without at least talking to your physician
Ok so this answers a question properly someone asked me a while adon. It’s not the HTN. Is the ACEi
This makes sense. If on and ACEi there is an up regulation of the number of receptors. Is this is the channel it does in then ACEi May contribute to viral load which contributes to severity.
It’s the medication according to this not the actual hypertension
Your post is well taken not to stop. But it’s an interesting link
I requested a Corona virus test at my physical on March 1st. My Dr. Called the Duke University Hospital Infectious Disease specialist while I was in his office and I listened on speakerphone.
Since I had no symptoms at that time, no test was deemed necessary.
I explained that 4 days earlier I was in Seoul, South Korea and left as they were shutting down flight to the USA.
There is an Italian study done....for all deaths (around a thousand they reviewed out of Italy)....for folks under age 65, the vast number (around 80-percent) were male. Over the age of 65....it was lessened to around 60-percent male. Almost all of the group from the age under age 65....had contributing conditions (diabetes, blood pressure, lung issues, etc). Only .7-percent had no contributing condition.
Good anecdotal information. How high was your temporary high blood pressure reading?
Your comment made the hair stand up on both my arms and the back of my neck.
Nice to see they’re getting around to figuring out that Coronavirus doesn’t take blood pressure measurements when deciding who to attack - but rather responds to the chemistry of the person.
Over the past two months I’ve been asking how Coronavirus knows who has high blood pressure and who doesn’t, considering that usually there aren’t other symptoms are chemical changes in people, due to high blood pressure alone.
It’s like pulling teeth to get these ‘experts’ to come out of their normalcy bias.
Medicine is not an exact science. What is deemed appropriate and true, often changes over time.
Much information has been collected but not properly analyzed regarding the COVID-19 virus. The big question is since ACE 2 receptors are thought to be the portal of entry fpr the virus, what is the effect on patients who use ACE inhibitors such as enalapril or ARBs such as valsartan. On one hand it is thought that those drugs may increase the number of ACE2 sites and make infection more likely. Yet these drugs might block or biochemically alter the sites to make infection less likely. A careful retrospective analysis of the data may give an answer. Years later the basic science may give an explanation. For now the FDA is recommending that people prescribed those drugs continue to take them.
BkMk
164/98
Thanks for posting. A vehicle for...
I’ve been taking ACE inhibitors for 30 years. Lotrel works perfectly for me, at low dosage. Nothing else I ever tried did any good at all.
Sure would be nice to know whether my daily medicine HELPS, or HURTS?
.
I make no speculations.
Just have a scientific inquiring mind.
Did you ever get the test?
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