COVID-19 pandemic: a glimpse into newly diagnosed hypertensive patients.

Abstract

ARBs, angiotensin receptor blockers; ACEIs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as an immediate and global problem just within a few months after its first description in Wuhan-China. Beyond its alarming mortality rate and easily transmissible nature through air droplets, it has also resulted in significant challenges in the cardiovascular area not only due to its higher mortality rates in cardiovascular disease and certain associated conditions, including diabetes mellitus and hypertension, but also due to the theoretically facilitated inoculation of lung tissue by the culprit agent, SARS-CoV-2 in these conditions [1,2]. This worrisome concern has been largely attributed to the potential upregulation of angiotensin enzyme 2 (ACE2) in hypertensive and diabetic patients, and more interestingly; in those receiving angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) [3].