Hypertension Drug Helps Fight COVID-19 Damage, Study Says

A study carried out in Puerto Rico has revealed that drugs used against hypertension Y cardiovascular diseases, especially the Losartan, have a positive effect in combating the damage caused by COVID-19.

Pablo Altieri, professor of Cardiovascular Center of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean of the Medical Sciences Campus (RCM) from University of Puerto Rico (UPR), the person who leads the study on the island, pointed out this Friday that the effectiveness of Losartan to combat COVID-19 has been tested in at least 70 patients in the Caribbean territory.

Altieri explained that drugs like Losartan y Enalapril, what are used to treat hypertension and cardiovascular problems, are currently being applied successfully as a treatment for COVID-19 on the island.

The use of these two drugs is especially common in intensive care units, he said.

“Losartan, when it comes into contact with cells, prevents them from being damaged by the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” said the Puerto Rican doctor, adding that this process has already been proven in about 70 people, which has been collected in a study that is expected to be published shortly.

“It was verified that the patients who were subjected to treatment with Losartan were less affected by the COVID-19“, Highlighted the specialist.

The process was verified by verifying that patients suffering from hypertension-related and cardiovascular diseases and therefore were treated with Losartan reacted, once they were infected by the coronavirus, much better than other patients who only suffered COVID-19 and that, therefore, they were not treated with this drug, which has been used for decades.

Altieri explained that human cells have “indentations”, which he defined as entrances that the virus takes advantage of to penetrate and kill them.

However the Losartan was introduced into these “indentations” and occupies a space in a way that prevents the virus from entering the cells.

He argued that it is a discovery that can help fight the coronavirus in Puerto Rico and anywhere else in the world.

Altieri explained that the director of RCM Physiology Department, Nelson Escobales, and Dr. María Crespo, from the same medical center, are some of the doctors who already use Losartan and other similar drugs to combat COVID-19.

Altieri, professor of medicine and physiology at the RCM School of Medicine, indicated that these drugs lodge in the receptors of human cells and prevent their penetration by producing a blockage.

“In my practice I have not seen patients who are using Losartan and have acquired the disease -coronavirus- in a severe degree. For this reason, we may see more young patients acquiring the virus. They are not using Losartan because they are too young to be hypertensive and its use is not indicated ”, explained the doctor.

The researcher pointed out that the study is progressing thanks to the database of the Cardiovascular Center of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

The dean of the RCM School of Medicine, Agustín Rodríguez, stressed that he will be attentive to the contribution of Dr. Altieri and his group, since the findings that they manage to contribute to the treatment of the disease will be useful to combat the virus In Puerto Rico, where since the pandemic began a total of 758 deaths have been recorded.

In addition, the coronavirus has left 28,174 confirmed cases, out of a total population in Puerto Rico of 3.2 million inhabitants.

He Health Department of the island reported this Friday that 196 new confirmed cases and 117 additional probable cases were registered.

The Governor of Puerto Rico, Wanda Vázquez, announced today a new executive order in the face of the pandemic that allows, among other measures, a higher percentage of occupation in restaurants and other social spaces.

With information from EFE