JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – It’s been five years since COVID-19 arrived in Arkansas, and some getting COVID-19 today aren’t dealing with just respiratory issues.
There have been cases of people who’ve had COVID-19, also having to deal with high blood pressure and heart issues.
“One of the very things we were concerned about in the beginning with COVID-19 is it was just a really different virus,” said the dean of the New York Insititute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State Dr. Shane Speights.
Getting COVID-19 is not a fun experience, but there can be more issues it can cause other than a cough.
Speights said COVID-19 can attack multiple different organs.
“It specifically had the ability to attack the heart, the lungs, the brain, the kidneys, and just different other organ systems,” said Speights.”
Speights mentioned a study conducted in 2023 by the American Heart Association.
They studied 45,00 people who had COVID-19.
“Those that were hospitalized, specifically, had twice the rate of high blood pressure than the general population,” said Speights. “For those individuals that had COVID-19 that weren’t hospitalized, they still had a 1 and a half times increase. So, COVID-19 in it of itself does increase the risk of an individual having high blood pressure or increase the risk.”
There are symptoms you should be on the lookout for that may mean your blood pressure is high.
“Some symptoms could be a headache, trouble with vision, I don’t feel good, I feel anxious, heart palpitations, or heart racing,” said Speights.
There are cases that which those symptoms may not show.
“One of the problems with high blood pressure is no symptoms at all,” said Speights. “That is why we call it the silent killer; some people have high blood pressure and never know it.”
Speights added that because you may not know your blood pressure is high, it’s important to make sure to check your blood pressure often.
To see the study from the American Heart Association, click here.
To report a typo or correction, please click here.
Copyright 2025 KAIT. All rights reserved.