New research shows that blood pressure control fell during the pandemic. Doctors say they're already seeing the effects.
dropped significantly in 2020 —either because people avoided the doctor's office or were unable to get care because their physicians closed their offices temporarily during the pandemic.
"There was substantial room for improvement in blood pressure control to begin with," Chamberlain, an associate professor of epidemiology at Mayo Clinic, said."Then, obviously, with a pandemic and people having fewer inpatient visits, we saw this big drop in blood pressure control." Now, in 2021, the cumulative effects, accelerated by the pandemic, are becoming apparent. Doctors say the combination ofand other pandemic-related lapses in health care has led to a sicker patient population overall.