<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
MONDAY, Aug. 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors are beneficial for hypertensive patients with COVID-19, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Current Atherosclerosis Reports<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Ranu Baral, from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined the impact of RAAS inhibitors on hypertensive patients with COVID-19. Data were included for 28,872 patients.<\/p>\n
The researchers observed a trend to lower risk for death\/critical events with use of any RAAS inhibition for any condition (odds ratio [OR], 0.671; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.435 to 1.034; P = 0.071). Among patients with hypertension, a significantly lower risk was seen for deaths (OR, 0.664; 95 percent CI, 0.458 to 0.964; P = 0.031) or the combination of death\/critical outcomes (OR, 0.670; 95 percent CI, 0.495 to 0.908; P = 0.010). No significant association of death\/critical outcomes was seen for angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use versus non-angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use (OR, 1.008; 95 percent CI, 0.822 to 1.235; P = 0.941) or for angiotensin receptor blocker versus non-angiotensin receptor blocker use (OR, 0.946; 95 percent CI, 0.735 to 1.218; P = 0.668).<\/p>\n
“The really important thing that we showed was that there is no evidence that these medications might increase the severity of COVID-19 or risk of death,” a coauthor said in a statement. “On the contrary, we found that there was a significantly lower risk of death and critical outcomes, so they might in fact have a protective role — particularly in patients with hypertension.”<\/p>\n