The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to Americans.
It has caused high rates of death and illness, disrupted nearly every aspect of daily life.
It has been linked to increased heart disease, lung disease, obesity, and sleep problems.
In a new study supported by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Home, researchers found that coronavirus and related stress can also be blamed for an increase in blood pressure among Americans.
In the current study, the team examined health data from more than half a million Americans from 50 states and the District of Columbia.
All the study’s participants were enrolled in an employer-sponsored wellness program that required them to have their blood pressure measured by trained personnel every year during the three-year period analyzed, 2018-2020.
They found that the average systolic blood pressure – the top number in the blood pressure reading – increased by about 2 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) from April 2020 to December 2020.
The period was when the peak of the pandemic happened and saw widespread stay-at-home orders and lockdowns.
The average diastolic pressure – the bottom number – also rose slightly. Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm Hg.
By contrast, no changes were reported in average blood pressure readings in the 15-month pre-pandemic period between January 2019 and the start of the peak pandemic period.
This is a very concerning finding because a small increase in blood pressure can cause a significant increase in strokes and heart attacks across the population— which, in turn, can lead to death, he added.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, can also raise the risk of more severe complications from COVID-19 disease.
Already in the United States, about half of adults have hypertension, but only about one in four (24%) have it under control.
The findings suggest that the pandemic possibly made the hypertension problem worse.
It’s important for people at the risk of high blood pressure to see health care providers regularly, and follow lifestyle and medication recommendations if they already have hypertension.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about food that can help control your waist size, blood pressure, blood sugar, and findings of pain medicine for headache that may effectively reduce high blood pressure.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about diet that could improve health in people with diabetes, and results showing that these vegetables may protect against kidney damage in diabetes.
The study was conducted by Luke J Laffin et al., and published in Circulation.
