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Diseases & Conditions
High blood pressure linked to severe COVID despite vaccination
- By Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
Research we’re watching
High blood pressure more than doubles the risk of hospitalization from an Omicron-variant COVID-19 infection, despite full vaccination that includes a booster dose, a new study suggests.
The study, published online July 20, 2022, by the journal Hypertension, analyzed data from 912 adults with COVID-19 in Los Angeles from December 2021 through April 2022. All had received at least three doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The Omicron variant of the virus was first detected in the United States in December 2021, and seven subvariants had been identified by July 2022.
Nearly 16% of the study participants required hospitalization for COVID-19, and more than 86% of that group had high blood pressure. The apparent effect of high blood pressure on severe COVID-19 illness remained even without other chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart failure, or kidney disease. Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure, according to the CDC.
Image: © Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images
About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
Disclaimer:
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Controlling Your Blood Pressure
An alarming one in three American adults has high blood pressure. Known medically as hypertension, many people don't even know they have it, because high blood pressure has no symptoms or warning signs. But when elevated blood pressure is accompanied by abnormal cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the damage to your arteries, kidneys, and heart accelerates exponentially. Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to detect and treat. In the Special Health Report, Controlling Your Blood Pressure, find out how to keep blood pressure in a healthy range simply by making lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, increasing activity, and eating more healthfully.
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