It has been a year since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared pandemic and wreak havoc worldwide. Despite meticulous research has been done in this period, there are still much to be learn from this novel coronavirus. Globally, observational studies have seen that majority of the patients with COVID-19 have preexisting hypertension. This raises the question about the possible relationship between COVID-19 and hypertension. This review summarizes the current understanding of the link between hypertension and COVID-19 and its underlying mechanisms.

Dyslipidemia is associated with increased arterial stiffness (AS) which may lead to hypertension. Among the methods to assess AS are carotid-femoral and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity. Dyslipidemia is also known to trigger inflammation. C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of the commonest inflammatory markers measured in the clinical setting. However, the association between inflammation and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in people with dyslipidemia is less studied. Therefore, this review investigated the association between inflammation (as measured by CRP) and PWV in dyslipidemia patients. The search of the literature was conducted via PubMed and Scopus database. The keywords used were “aortic stiffness” OR “arterial stiffness” OR “pulse wave velocity” OR “vascular stiffness” OR “carotid femoral pulse wave velocity” OR “pulse wave analysis” AND “inflammation” OR “c reactive protein” OR “c-reactive protein” OR “high sensitivity c reactive protein” AND “dyslipidemia” OR “hyperlipidemia” OR “hypercholesterolemia” OR “hyperlipoproteinemia” OR “hypertriglyceridemia”. The following criteria were used: (1) only full-length original articles published in English language, (2) articles that reported the association between arterial stiffness measured as carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) or brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) and CRP or high-sensitivity CRP, and (3) study involving human subjects. The search identified 957 articles published between 1980 and February 2020. Only eight articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were used for data extraction. Five of the studies were cross-sectional studies while another three studies were interventional studies. Seven out of eight papers found a significant positive association between AS and CRP, and the correlation ranged from mild to moderate association (Pearson r=0.33 to r=0.624). In conclusion, inflammation is associated with increased PWV in patients with dyslipidemia. This supports the involvement of inflammation in the development of AS in dyslipidemia.

Sarcopenia is the progressive loss of muscle mass, strength, and functions as we age. The pathogenesis of sarcopenia is underlined by oxidative stress and inflammation. As such, it is reasonable to suggest that a natural compound with both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities could prevent sarcopenia. Curcumin, a natural compound derived from turmeric with both properties, could benefit muscle health. This review aims to summarise the therapeutic effects of curcumin on cellular, animal, and human studies. The available evidence found in the literature showed that curcumin prevents muscle degeneration by upregulating the expression of genes related to protein synthesis and suppressing genes related to muscle degradation. It also protects muscle health by maintaining satellite cell number and function, protecting the mitochondrial function of muscle cells, and suppressing inflammation and oxidative stress. However, it is noted that most studies are preclinical. Evidence from randomised control trials in humans is lacking. In conclusion, curcumin has the potential to be utilised to manage muscle wasting and injury, pending more evidence from carefully planned human clinical trials.

Initially thought to only provide mechanical support for the underlying blood vessels, perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) has now emerged as a regulator of vascular function. A healthy PVAT exerts anticontractile and anti-inflammatory actions on the underlying vasculature via the release of adipocytokines such as adiponectin, nitric oxide, and omentin. However, dysfunctional PVAT produces more proinflammatory adipocytokines such as leptin, resistin, interleukin- (IL-) 6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, thus inducing an inflammatory response that contributes to the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. In this review, current knowledge on the role of PVAT inflammation in the development of vascular pathologies such as atherosclerosis and hypertension was discussed.