Background: The COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively affected medical care for and self-management of chronic hypertension. We sought to examine the impact of the pandemic on blood pressure (BP) among individuals with hypertension.
Methods: Using an interrupted time series analysis, we compared the level and trend (slope) of BP outcomes before the public health emergency declaration (prepandemic period: August 2018 through January 2020) versus after the stay-at-home orders (pandemic period: April 2020 through November 2020) among adults with hypertension followed at 3 large health systems (n=137 593). Outcomes include systolic and diastolic BP recorded in electronic health records and the proportion of individuals with BP <140/90 mm Hg.
Results: The number of BP measurements substantially dropped early in the pandemic and then gradually increased. During the pandemic period, systolic and diastolic BP increased by 1.79 mm Hg (95% CI, 1.57-2.01; P<0.001) and 1.30 mm Hg (95% CI, 1.18-1.42; P<0.001), respectively, compared with the prepandemic period. Similarly, the proportion of patients with controlled BP decreased by 3.43 percentage points (95% CI, -3.97 to -2.90; P<0.001). A trend showing increasing control in the prepandemic period (+3.19 percentage points per year [95% CI, +2.96 to +3.42]; P<0.001) flattened during the pandemic period (+0.27 percentage points per year [95% CI, -0.81 to -1.37]; P=0.62).
Conclusions: The first 8 months of the pandemic were associated with worsening BP outcomes among individuals with hypertension. Opportunities to ensure ongoing access to health care with telemedicine and home BP monitoring may mitigate adverse impacts on BP control for future disasters/emergencies.
Keywords: COVID 19; blood pressure; electronic health records; hypertension; interrupted time series analysis; pandemics.