Prevalence and control of hypertension in COVID-19 positive cases

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered SARS-CoV-2 virus. Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 experience several complications including hypertension or elevated blood pressure which is a serious medical condition that significantly increases the risks of heart, brain, and kidney diseases.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and control of hypertension in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based study conducted in an isolation center at Atbara Teaching Hospital in 2021. The data were collected by interviewing patients through a close-ended questionnaire and analyzed using a statistical computerized program (SPSS version 21).

Results: The main results of the study revealed that the prevalence of blood pressure amongst patients diagnosed with COVID-19 was mild 45%, moderate 17.7%, and severe 10%; of the cases, 25.7% were newly discovered hypertension cases, of the cases 26.7% were diabetic patients; and 70.7% of the study group full recovered form COVID-19 at discharge.

Conclusion: The study concluded that most of the study group had hypertension with COVID-19, some of them were newly discovered cases of hypertension and also had diabetes mellitus which indicates that COVID-19 may cause the onset of hypertension.