Coronavirus patients with high blood pressure twice as likely to die, research suggests

Even greater risk among patients who are not taking hypertension medication

Patients 'should not discontinue or change their normal, antihypertensive treatment', researchers say (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Coronavirus patients with high blood pressure could be twice as likely to die than those without, research suggests.

The risk is even greater among patients who are not taking medication to control hypertension, scientists reported in the European Heart Journal.

Their findings were based on data from nearly 2,900 hospital patients in Wuhan, China, the original epicentre of the pandemic.