COVID-19 and Pulmonary Hypertension

People with pulmonary hypertension (PH) may have higher risks of contracting a severe form of COVID-19 or needing hospitalization.

While people with underlying health conditions don’t have a greater risk of contracting the virus, those with heart and lung diseases have a higher risk of developing serious illness if they become infected.

You can protect yourself or a family member with PH by staying up to date on your vaccines, masking in crowded settings, practicing proper hand hygiene, testing, and following other recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Like all viruses, the virus that causes COVID-19 continuously changes, leading to new variants. The new variants can spread rapidly and become resistant to vaccines. Numerous variants are circulating throughout the United States and the world. Some can infect people who were previously infected or vaccinated.

Although many people report milder cases after vaccination, people who are immunocompromised may experience severe symptoms or require hospitalization. Your risk increases according to the number of underlying conditions you have.

Others at risk of severe illness or hospitalization include older adults. More than 81% of COVID-19 deaths occur in people over age 65, according to the CDC.

Young children are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 because most haven’t been vaccinated. The CDC recently approved bivalvent vaccines for children 6 months through 5 years.