New research confirms that medications used to treat high blood pressure do not increase a patients risks of contracting 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure and heart disease, and are more vulnerable to becoming ill if they contract COVID-19. Therefore, understanding the relationship between these commonly used medications and COVID-19 was a critical public health concern.

Led by Harmony R. Reynolds, MD, associate director of the Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center at NYU Langone, the research found no links between treatment with four drug classes—angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers—and increased likelihood of a positive test for COVID-19.

“I worry because I’ve received calls from many patients asking if they should stop their medicine or switch to something else, and some even stopped their medications without asking me,” Dr. Reynolds says. “The main message here is that there is no signal of increased risk, and that should be very reassuring.”

Read more from The New York Times (account required).