In a new study, researchers found that older COVID-19 patients taking ACE inhibitors for high blood pressure have a lower risk of hospitalization for the novel coronavirus.
The research was led by a team at Yale University.
In the study, the researchers analyzed data from about 10,000 patients with high blood pressure who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
All patients had a prescription for at least one high blood pressure medication, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB).
The team found the use of ACE inhibitors was linked to an almost 40% lower risk of COVID-19 hospitalization for the older Medicare patients, but there was no big difference in risk for the younger, commercially insured patients.
The use of ARBs was not linked to a lower risk for COVID-19 hospitalization for either group.
Also, neither ARBs nor ACE inhibitors were linked to a lower death risk in people hospitalized with COVID-19.
A large-scale clinical study is being prepared to examine the effect of ACE inhibitors on preventing the most severe consequences of COVID-19.
The researchers said the study was prompted by unresolved gaps in scientific knowledge that have led to debate over how ACE inhibitors and ARBs affect COVID-19 patients.
The lead author of the study is Dr. Harlan Krumholz, the Harold H. Hines Jr. Professor of Medicine at Yale.
The study is posted on the medical pre-print website medRxiv.
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