Does the pandemic raise your blood pressure? You are not alone.

It was hard last year. Americans have tackled pandemics, the loss of loved ones, the blockade of social networks, stress, unemployment, and depression.

It’s no wonder that the country’s blood pressure has skyrocketed.

Scientists reported on Monday that blood pressure measurements in nearly 500,000 adults showed a significant increase compared to last year.

These measurements represent the pressure of blood on the arterial wall. Over time, increased pressure can damage the heart, brain, blood vessels, kidneys, and eyes. Sexual function can also be affected.

“These are not surprising, but shocking and very important data,” said Dr. Donald M. Lloyd Jones, president of the American Heart Association, who was not involved in the study.

“Even a small change in the average blood pressure of the population can have a significant impact on the number of strokes, heart failure events, and heart attacks that can occur in the coming months,” he added.

the study, Published as a research letter The journal Circulation clearly reminds us that we must manage chronic health, even in the midst of a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 785,000 Americans and blocked access to health care.

Almost half of American adults have high blood pressure, or high blood pressure. This is a chronic symptom called a “silent killer” because it has few symptoms but can have life-threatening consequences.

High blood pressure can also increase the risk of serious illness if you are infected with the coronavirus. (NS The evidence for that link is mixedAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. )

A new study by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic and Quest Diagnostics includes data from hundreds of thousands of Quest employees and spouses who participated in the company’s wellness program to track other health indicators such as blood pressure and weight. I looked it up. Participants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia included people who had hypertension and normotension at the beginning of the study.

“We found that during the pandemic, people weren’t exercising much, didn’t receive regular care, drank less, and slept less,” said Luke, preventive cardiologist and co-director. Dr. Raffin said. Cleveland Clinic Blood Pressure Disorder Center. “We wanted to know, did their blood pressure change during the pandemic?”

Researchers found that blood pressure measurements remained almost unchanged from 2019 to the first three months of 2020, but increased significantly from April 2020 to December 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. I found that.

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and consists of two numbers. The first number shows the systolic pressure when the heart contracts, and the second number shows the diastolic pressure when the heart rests during the beat. Optimal levels have been controversial for decades, but normal blood pressure is said to be below 120/80 mmHg.

According to a new study, the average monthly change from April 2020 to December 2020 was 1.10 mmHg to 2.50 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure and 0.14 to 0.53 for diastolic blood pressure compared to the previous year.

This increase was true for both men and women, and for all age groups. In females, there was a greater increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

The average age of the survey participants was over 45 years old, and over half were female. However, critics did not include information on race or ethnicity of participants, as hypertension is far more prevalent among black Americans than whites and Hispanics, which is significant in the study. It was said that it was a weak point.

Blacks are also disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Dr. Laffin said the analysis was meaningless as only 6% of the survey participants had information about race and ethnicity.

However, when it comes to hypertension, there is a big difference between black Americans and whites and Hispanic Americans, a cardiologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and author of the 2017 National Blood Pressure Guidelines. One Dr. Kim Williams said.

“Hypertension has been prevalent in the African-American population for decades,” he said. “Our cures have improved and attempts to call them have improved, but the gap is still widening. And pandemics have hit different aspects of different cultures and societies in different ways. We know that. “

The cause of the overall rise in blood pressure is not clear, said Dr. Raffin and his colleagues. Reasons for this include increased alcohol consumption, decreased exercise, increased stress, decreased doctor consultation, and decreased adherence to dosing plans.

The researchers said the men in the study lost weight and the females did not gain more weight than usual, dismissing the possible effects of weight gain, which is known to increase blood pressure.

However, other experts pointed out that the average weight gain may mask the increase in the population segment.

“It’s probably multifactorial,” said Dr. Lloyd Jones, referring to the overall rise in blood pressure. “But I think the important part is that we know that so many people have lost contact with the medical system and lost control of blood pressure and diabetes.”

Despite the pandemic, Americans must pay more attention to overall health and management of the underlying medical condition, Dr. Raffin said, and penalties for not doing so will last longer than the coronavirus itself. He added that it might be.

“There are also public health implications of not seeing a doctor on a regular basis, neglecting dietary choices, and not exercising,” he said. “When you think about the long-term implications, it’s potentially more serious.”