Hypertension is classified as blood pressure above 140/90 mmHg. From the scientific evidence, there are varied contributing factors to an elevated blood pressure ranging from stressful situations, dietary factors, genetic make-up, lifestyle factors such as sedentary lifestyle, disease states among others. On the backdrop of these, emerging evidence from patients being managed for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) show that those with comorbidities ranging from cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease are at an increased risk of developing severe disease and mortality. However, there is no causal relationship between COVID-19 and hypertension as hypertension is exceedingly frequent in the elderly and older patients appear to be at an increased risk to suffer severe complications from COVID-19.

It’s therefore important to put in place measures to safeguard the hypertensive patients who to a greater extent are elderly people from contracting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which may worsen their outcomes.

Management of hypertension being a lifelong condition calls for continued access to and appropriate use of medicines. On this account, we hosted the MYDAWA Managing Director Mr. Tony Wood who shared on the innovative approaches they have adopted to guarantee continued access to medicines by this population even with COVID-19.