Although the COVID vaccination drives have picked up the speed, some complications can arise once the vaccine is injected into the body. Some of the common ones are fever, weakness, anxiety, pain at the injection site. However, there could also be some unusual reactions that can attack. For example, many people are now reporting a rise in their blood pressure levels to post COVID vaccination.
Covid-19 and High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is a critical condition if left untreated can lead to many other health issues. Health risks associated with high blood pressure include heart disease, stroke, and dementia. For those who have high blood pressure, it is important to take extra care to be protected during the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The research shows that people with high blood pressure are more likely to:
- Get COVID-19
- Have worse symptoms
- Die from the infection
High Blood Pressure Risks
Investigations have shown that people with uncontrolled or untreated high blood pressure are more vulnerable to getting severely ill with COVID-19. It’s also necessary to note that people who have a history of untreated high blood pressure seem to be more at risk of complications from COVID-19 than those whose high blood pressure is managed with medication. Other research shows that those who have high blood pressure are also somewhat more likely to die from coronavirus.
What’s the Link between COVID-19 and High blood pressure?
Firstly, a weaker immune system is the reason that people with high blood pressure and other health problems are at higher risk for coronavirus. The immune system is weakened by aging and persistent health conditions so the body is less capable to fight off the virus. Almost two-thirds of people over 60 have high blood pressure. The second possibility is that the higher risk comes not from high blood pressure itself, but from certain drugs used to treat it — ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). The ACE inhibitors and ARBs raise levels of an enzyme called ACE2 in your body. And the COVID-19 virus must attach itself to ACE2 to infect cells. But stopping the high blood pressure medications may make worse heart and kidney disease and can also increase your risk of death. The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association recommend that you keep taking your high blood pressure medicine as prescribed. Otherwise, it could raise your risk for a heart attack or stroke, putting you in the hospital just as coronavirus cases are coming in.
- Avoid or limit alcohol as it can raise blood pressure.
- Quit smoking because tobacco causes blood pressure to rising and plaque to build up quickly in your arteries.
- Choose heart-healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, fish, and low-fat dairy foods.
- Decrease the salt in your diet.
- Manage stress because it can raise your blood pressure. Try managing stress in healthy ways, such as deep breathing and meditation.
Hypertension After COVID Vaccination
Some studies show that a small percentage of people developed symptomatic hypertension after getting a COVID-19 vaccine. More data are needed to find out the extent and the mechanism of hypertension after mRNA-based vaccination, the data indicate that in elderly patients with a history of hypertension and/or significant prior cardiovascular comorbidities, pre-vaccination control of BP and post-vaccination monitoring, including symptom screening may be assured.
The data is limited and a lot is needed to study in this domain. But above all preventive health measures like wearing a mask, limiting social contact, hand washing, and distancing are the best ways to limit the transmission of COVID-19.
One should remain on regular medication unless advised by a healthcare professional. According to CDC, those with hypertension take the vaccine as soon as they can. The vaccine has been observed to decrease the intensity of the virus, which means your heart and blood vessels will not have to work forcefully to meet the body’s requirements.
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