7 THE TOP CORONAVIRUS QUESTIONS
... ANSWERED
orders, continue taking it. If you’re exposed to the virus and want to know if you can switch to another medication, get confirmation from your doctor first. We’ve heard similar rumors about angiotensin-converting enzyme (“ACE”) inhibitors. These are common medications for folks with heart disease. A few reports from China claim that the virus gets into cells by attaching to ACE2 receptors. ACE2 is an enzyme that’s critical for maintaining blood pressure. ACE inhibitors make the heart increase how much ACE2 it has. So theoretically, taking these heart meds might increase your risk of having severe cases of COVID-19. Note that word: theoretically . We still don’t have any proof or studies to back this up. Additionally, we’ve seen experimental models that show these same heart meds actually protect against other types of lung infections. The real answer here is don’t stop taking your heart medications. A joint statement from the American Heart Association, the Heart
I heard ibuprofen will make COVID-19 worse – should I stop taking it? We’ve heard a number of reports that ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (“NSAIDs”) could make the coronavirus worse. Unfortunately, we’re in a time where the virus and infections move more rapidly than sound scientific research. The short answer is that we just don’t know. If you have a fever or other pains that you want to take ibuprofen for, try to take acetaminophen (like Tylenol) instead. This still reduces fever but won’t help with inflammation. It could be an overabundance of caution, but this is a time to be overly cautious. If you’re on ibuprofen or another NSAID (like aspirin or Celebrex) under doctor’s The real answer here is don’t stop taking your heart medications... If your doctor tells you to stop, then do so.
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April 2020
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