This question arises from the way the virus enters the cells of the body. It uses the ACE2 receptor on cells to access the inside and get the RNA into the cells to replicate. In patient taking ACE inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers, these receptors may be increased.
So the first thing to realize is that every blood pressure medication is not called into question. Only medications that end in pril and medications that end in sartan, and possibly spironolactone, are the medications that are being discussed. The second thing to realize is that this discussion at this time is purely theoretical. So……
Currently, the answer to this question is yes. We do not have enough information to tell our patients to stop taking medications that we know are beneficial to them. There are thousands of doctors having these conversations daily, and we keep coming to the consensus that our average, healthy patients should stay on these medications. In more critically ill patients, that’s a different decision, that should be made on a case by case basis, by each individual physician. But please, if you’re healthy, don’t call your doctor demanding to be taken off these medications…at least not yet. We just DON’T have enough information, and strokes, heart attacks, renal failure–they’re still a threat, guys.
An article about the ACE2 receptor: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00134-020-05985-9