LOnger-term Effects of COVID-19 INfection on Blood Vessels And Blood pRessure (LOCHINVAR)

The Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic is one of the biggest medical challenges in recent years. Whilst COVID-19 primarily affects the lungs, causing interstitial pneumonitis and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, it also affects multiple organ systems, including the cardiovascular system(1-3). There are documented associations between severity of disease/mortality risk and advancing age, male sex and associated comorbid disease (hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, obesity, COPD and cancer).(4,5) The most common complications include cardiac dysrhythmia(6,7), cardiac injury(8,9), myocarditis, heart failure, pulmonary embolism10 and disseminated intravascular coagulation(11). The SARS-CoV-2 virus uses the ACE2 receptor (ACE2) to enter type 2 pneumocytes, macrophages, perivascular pericytes, and cardiomyocytes.(12) This may lead to myocardial dysfunction and damage, endothelial dysfunction, microvascular dysfunction, plaque instability, and myocardial infarction.(12) In addition, ACE2 is expressed in several other organs including cells lining the blood vessels (endothelial cells), ACE2 is a key player in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) which is important in blood pressure regulation and is a target for some of the commonly used drugs used in the treatment of blood pressure. While ACE2 is essential for viral invasion, it is unclear if the use of the common antihypertensive drugs ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) alter prognosis in those with COVID-19 infection.(12) Furthermore, there is evidence that the normally occurring bacteria in the gut (gut microbiome) directly influences the makeup of the human immune system and has been implicated in severity of COVID-19 as well as in the magnitude of the immune system response to SARS-CoV-2 infection(13). This study (LOCHINVAR) is based on the pilot study "COVID-19 blood pressure endothelium interaction study" (OBELIX), funded by the Chief Scientific Office. Preliminary results showed that participants who had COVID-19 infection had an 8.6mmHg increase in their average 24hr systolic blood pressure, compared to those that did not have COVID-19 infection. The investigators will increase our recruitment of potential participants to meet our sample size of 150 participants (75 SARS-CoV-2 +ve cases and 75 SARS-CoV-2 -ve cases) built on OBELIX. This study will allow us to have a better understanding of the risks of developing high blood pressure or uncontrolled blood pressure following COVID-19 infection. This will allow doctors to be able to make a recommendation on the current/long term management of people with high blood pressure beyond the pandemic.