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A new paper in the <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2008975">New England Journal of Medicine</a> shows that conventional hypertensive medications do not increase the risk for a positive test for <a href="https://www.docwirenews.com/docwire-pick/rheumatology-picks/heres-how-rheumatic-patients-were-affected-during-the-early-days-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/">SARS-Cov2</a> (COVID-19).Researchers from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine undertook the study due to fears that drugs that acted on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), commonly used to treat hypertension, could elevate the risk for severe symptoms in patients exposed to COVID-19 [specifically, the viral receptor angiotensin-concerting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is present on the outer membrane of lung cells and has been shown to be a connector for the virus].&nbsp; The researchers looked at the relationship between previous treatment with ACE inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), calcium-channel blockers, or thiazide diuretics, and the likelihood of positive or negative COVID-19 testing. They also examined the risk of severe illness (which they defined as intensive care, mechanical ventilation, or death) in patients testing positive for COVID-19.The study included 12,594 patients tested for COVID-19. Of those, 5,894 (46.8%) tested positive, and 1,002 (17.0%) of them had severe illness. The authors also reported a history of hypertension in 34.6% of patients (2,573 [59.1%] in the positive group, with 634 having severe illness). According to the researchers, there were no observed associations between any single medication class and increased likelihood for a positive COVID-19 test, and none of the medication classes, including ACE inhibitors, were associated with an increased risk for severe illness in the patients who tested positive for the virus.&ldquo;With nearly half of American adults having high blood pressure, and heart disease patients more vulnerable to COVID-19, understanding the relationship between these commonly used medications and COVID-19 was a critical public health concern,&rdquo; said lead study investigator Harmony R. Reynolds, MD, associate director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://med.nyu.edu/medicine/cardiology/cardiovascular-clinical-research-center-ccrc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center</a> at NYU Langone Health, in a press <a href="https://nyulangone.org/news/study-finds-high-blood-pressure-medications-safe-patients-covid-19-disease">release</a>. &ldquo;Our findings should reassure the medical community and patients about the continued use of these commonly prescribed medications, which prevent potentially severe heart events in their own right.&rdquo;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
High <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bloodpressure?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bloodpressure</a> drugs do not worsen <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> patient outcomes or increase risk of getting the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#coronavirus</a>, according to a study in &#8294;<a href="https://twitter.com/NEJM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NEJM</a>&#8297; by &#8294;<a href="https://twitter.com/nyulangone?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nyulangone</a>&#8297; <a href="https://t.co/AGT4WJOzF6">https://t.co/AGT4WJOzF6</a>
&mdash; Jocelyn Solis-Moreira (@JoSolisM) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoSolisM/status/1256610417562005504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2020</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Anti-hipertensivos pioram sintomas da <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Covid_19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Covid_19</a> ?
Pesquisa no New England Journal of Medicine levanta fortes evid&ecirc;ncias de que a resposta &eacute; N&Atilde;O:<a href="https://t.co/ZUeHkyCE5O">https://t.co/ZUeHkyCE5O</a>
Nesta semana ainda pretendo gravar um v&iacute;deo explicando isso: <a href="https://t.co/LqRRlh85Mq">https://t.co/LqRRlh85Mq</a>
&mdash; Vitor Engr&aacute;cia Valenti &#129516;&#128692; (@valenti_vitor) <a href="https://twitter.com/valenti_vitor/status/1257327454571638785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2020</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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ACE Inhibitors Not Linked with Increased Risk for Positive COVID-19 Test

Cardiology

A new paper in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that conventional hypertensive medications do not increase the risk for a positive test for SARS-Cov2 (COVID-19). ...

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