%0 Journal Article %A Kunwardeep S Bhatia %A Hari P Sritharan %A Jonathan Ciofani %A Justin Chia %A Usaid K Allahwala %A Karina Chui %A Daniel Nour %A Sheran Vasanthakumar %A Dhanvee Khandadai %A Pavithra Jayadeva %A Rohan Bhagwandeen %A David Brieger %A Christopher Choong %A Anthony Delaney %A Girish Dwivedi %A Benjamin Harris %A Graham Hillis %A Bernard Hudson %A George Javorski %A Nigel Jepson %A Logan Kanagaratnam %A George Kotsiou %A Astin Lee %A Sidney T Lo %A Andrew I MacIsaac %A Brendan McQuillan %A Isuru Ranasinghe %A Antony Walton %A James Weaver %A William Wilson %A Andy S C Yong %A John Zhu %A William Van Gaal %A Leonard Kritharides %A Clara K Chow %A Ravinay Bhindi %T Association of hypertension with mortality in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 %D 2021 %R 10.1136/openhrt-2021-001853 %J Open Heart %P e001853 %V 8 %N 2 %X Objective To assess whether hypertension is an independent risk factor for mortality among patients hospitalised with COVID-19, and to evaluate the impact of ACE inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) use on mortality in patients with a background of hypertension.Method This observational cohort study included all index hospitalisations with laboratory-proven COVID-19 aged ≥18 years across 21 Australian hospitals. Patients with suspected, but not laboratory-proven COVID-19, were excluded. Registry data were analysed for in-hospital mortality in patients with comorbidities including hypertension, and baseline treatment with ACE inhibitors or ARBs.Results 546 consecutive patients (62.9±19.8 years old, 51.8% male) hospitalised with COVID-19 were enrolled. In the multivariable model, significant predictors of mortality were age (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.09, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.12, p<0.001), heart failure or cardiomyopathy (aOR 2.71, 95% CI 1.13 to 6.53, p=0.026), chronic kidney disease (aOR 2.33, 95% CI 1.02 to 5.32, p=0.044) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (aOR 2.27, 95% CI 1.06 to 4.85, p=0.035). Hypertension was the most prevalent comorbidity (49.5%) but was not independently associated with increased mortality (aOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.48 to 1.77, p=0.81). Among patients with hypertension, ACE inhibitor (aOR 1.37, 95% CI 0.61 to 3.08, p=0.61) and ARB (aOR 0.64, 95% CI 0.27 to 1.49, p=0.30) use was not associated with mortality.Conclusions In patients hospitalised with COVID-19, pre-existing hypertension was the most prevalent comorbidity but was not independently associated with mortality. Similarly, the baseline use of ACE inhibitors or ARBs had no independent association with in-hospital mortality.Data are available upon reasonable request. %U https://openheart.bmj.com/content/openhrt/8/2/e001853.full.pdf