A new study is questioning if there’s a link between the coronavirus and high blood pressure -- a step some medical experts aren’t ready to take just yet.
The consequences of the coronavirus can be disastrous, even the unintended consequences.
“We've also noticed a lot of cardiac patients afraid to come to the hospital even though they're having cardiac symptoms,” said Dr. Raghu R. Tadikamalla, a cardiologist for Allegheny Health Network.
Heart attacks are often caused by high blood pressure, which nearly one in every three Americans has.
But a study by the CDC now suggests high blood pressure could also be linked to the coronavirus.
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The CDC study examined 14 states in the month of March, finding nearly half of all coronavirus patients with underlying conditions suffered from hypertension.
That number skyrocketed up to 72% for patients 65 and older -- the age group where the virus is most likely to be fatal.
“It would make sense since that older patients are succumbing to this disease, a very high percentage of them are going to have hypertension as well,” Tadikamalla said.
While concerns have been raised about high blood pressure and the medications used to treat it , he believes there just isn't enough information or data to draw any conclusions.
“High blood pressure is so common that it's really hard to say if people with high blood pressure are more likely to get the disease or more likely to get sick,” Tadikamalla said.
Tadikamalla said he and other doctors are following their principles do no harm and follow the evidence. Evidence he says is not there to make a direct link between high blood pressure and the coronavirus.
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