Pharmacotherapy for hypertensive urgency and emergency in COVID-19 patients.
INTRODUCTION
Hypertension is a common chronic disorder in patients hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Furthermore, an exaggerated cardiovascular response with persistently raised blood pressure during hospitalization seems independently associated with in-hospital all-cause mortality, intensive care unit admission and heart failure. However, the real burden of elevated blood pressure during the acute phase of COVID-19 remains undefined.


AREAS COVERED
The authors review the available evidence on the pharmacotherapy for the treatment of acute elevations in blood pressure (including hypertensive urgency and emergency) in COVID-19 patients.


EXPERT OPINION
Acute elevations in blood pressure and unstable in-hospital blood pressure may be associated with organ damage and worse outcome in patients with COVID-19. In this setting, hypertensive emergencies require immediate reduction in blood pressure through intravenous treatment according to specific features and goals. Conversely, hypertensive urgencies usually require solely oral treatment. Diuretics, beta-blockers, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors, and calcium channel blockers may be of benefit in treating COVID-19 patients with elevated blood pressure values.
['Angeli|Fabio|F|', 'Verdecchia|Paolo|P|', 'Reboldi|Gianpaolo|G|']
hypertension hypertensive urgencies COVID-19 blood pressure treatment outcome hypertensive emergencies SARS-CoV-2 blood pressure lowering drugs