ACE2 receptors are proteins that viruses such as Covid-19 use to break into our cells and infect us. Different viruses use different receptors to do this.
The normal role of the ACE2 receptor is in blood pressure regulation and, indeed, ACE inhibitor drugs are taken by 15 million Britons for high blood pressure and heart failure.
There have been some concerns that ACE inhibitor drugs might be a problem for people with Covid-19 – because by blocking the enzyme, ACE is thought to raise the number of ACE2 receptors as the natural signalling system is disrupted.
However, experts are warning patients that under no circumstances should they stop taking prescribed heart medication.
‘ACE inhibitors and ACE receptor blockers are not associated with a greater risk of Covid-19 infection or severity of infection, or risk of death in patients who already have Covid-19,’ says Francesco Cappuccio, professor of cardiovascular medicine and epidemiology at Warwick University and spokesman for the British and Irish Hypertension Society. ‘People who have been prescribed them should continue to take them.’
