ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION FOLLOWING COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of newly verified or worsened existing hypertension in patients who had COVID-19. Design and method: In this case-control study which lasted from May 2021 to December 2021, 108 patients (49 males, 59 females) who have had COVID-19 were analyzed at the Emergency department in Clinical Hospital Merkur, a tertiary care center in Zagreb, Croatia. In order to be categorized as a COVID patient, a positive PCR test at a single point in time was required. According to the accepted definitions of COVID-19 and its manifestations in respect to time from a positive PCR test, the patients were divided into two groups: acute COVID patients (PCR test positive < 30 days ago) and post-acute COVID patients (PCR test positive > 30 days ago). Additionally, the post-acute group was subdivided into the following groups: sub-acute (30–90 days from positive PCR test), chronic (90–180 days from positive PCR test), and “long COVID” (>180 days from positive PCR test). Patients’ age, history, BMI, laboratory values, and antihypertensive therapy were recorded. Results: Out of 108 patients studied, 13 (12.04 %) had either newly verified (8) or worsened existing (5) arterial hypertension. Among those, the median time from a verified SARS-CoV-2 infection to onset of symptoms was 90 days. When divided into groups, 5 were in the acute, 3 in the sub-acute, 4 in the chronic, and 1 in the “long COVID” group. Compared to the rest of the study population, patients presenting with arterial hypertension had significantly higher systolic (median 155 vs. 126 mmHg, p = 0.004) and diastolic (median 90 vs 80 mmHg, p = 0.02) blood pressure and were non-significantly younger (median 48 vs 58 years, p = 0.067). Conclusions: Arterial hypertension following COVID-19, either newly verified or worsened existing, is a relatively common (12.04% of our patient pool) occurrence and more effort should be directed into evaluating patients’ blood pressure values following COVID-19 in order to make a timely diagnosis and start proper treatment early.