People who have high blood pressure may be twice as likely to die from Covid-19 than those without the medical condition, according to research.

Scientists have said the risk is even greater among patients who are not taking medication to control hypertension.

The findings, reported in the European Heart Journal, are based on data from nearly 3,000 hospital patients in Wuhan, China.

Professor Fei Li, from Xijing Hospital in China and one of the study authors, said: “It is important that patients with high blood pressure realise that they are at increased risk of dying from Covid-19.

“They should take good care of themselves during this pandemic and they need more attention if they are infected with the coronavirus.”

Patients should not discontinue or change their normal antihypertensive treatment, scientists said.

Professor Ling Tao said: "Some researchers were raising concerns that RAAS inhibitors might be facilitating the entry of the coronavirus into cells and making people more susceptible to the disease.

"The results were in the opposite direction, with a trend in favour of ACE inhibitors and ARBs."

A team of scientists, which also included researchers from the National University of Ireland Galway, looked at data from 2,866 patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 between February 5-15.

Of these patients, 850 (29.5 per cent) had a medical history of hypertension.

The team found 34 out of 850 patients (4 per cent) with hypertension died after becoming infected with coronavirus, compared with 22 out of 2,027 patients without the condition (1.1 per cent).

After adjustment for factors such as age, sex and other medical conditions, the researchers said those with high blood pressure had more than a two-fold increased risk of dying from Covid-19.

More than one in four people have high blood pressure in the UK, the British Heart Foundation says.

Among the patients who were not taking medication for hypertension, 11 out 140 (7.9 per cent) died from coronavirus, compared with 23 out of 710 (3.2 per cent) of those consuming the medicines.

The signs to look out for

Because hypertension doesn’t usually cause any symptoms, many people do not even know they have it.

The only way to know whether or not you have hypertension is to have your blood pressure checked by a health professional. This check is quick and easy to do in your GP surgery or pharmacy.

Symptoms can occur in rare cases where a person has a very high blood pressure level.

The symptoms may include, according to the British Heart Foundations:

  • Blurred vision
  • Nosebleeds
  • Shortness of breath
  • Chest pain
  • Dizziness
  • Headaches

You should visit your GP as soon as possible if you have any of these symptoms.