The European Society of Cardiology is recommending that physicians urge their patients to continue high blood pressure medications, even though a study suggested that those medications could increase the risk of COVID-19.
When the general public caught wind of the theory, social media amplified the issue, resulting in patient and physician concerns, the organization said in a March 13 position statement. Patients have not only become increasingly uncertain about how to proceed, but some have stopped taking their angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers.
This has raised questions among their physicians, the organization reported, but there is no evidence to bolster the theory about a link between the drugs and coronavirus, they stated.
“This speculation about the safety of ACE-i or ARB treatment in relation to COVID-19 does not have a sound scientific basis or evidence to support it,” it said. In fact, there is some evidence that the drugs could protect against serious lung complications in patients with the disease, it concluded.
