If you have high blood pressure, it's a good idea to take extra care to protect yourself during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Early research shows that people with the condition may be more likely to:

1. Get COVID-19
2. Have worse symptoms
3. Die from the infection

Data from China and Italy -- countries hit early by the virus -- show higher risk of COVID-19 infections and complications in people with high blood pressure.

In China, 25% to 50% of people who came to hospitals with coronavirus had high blood pressure or another health condition like cancer, diabetes, or lung disease. In Italy, more than 99% of people who've died from the virus had one of these conditions -- and 76% of them had high blood pressure.

People with high blood pressure are also slightly more likely to die from coronavirus. Their risk is about 6% higher than the overall population.

A weaker immune system is one reason people with high blood pressure and other health problems are at higher risk for coronavirus. Long-term health conditions and aging weaken your immune system so it's less able to fight off the virus. Nearly two-thirds of people over 60 have high blood pressure.

Another possibility is that the higher risk comes not from high blood pressure itself, but from certain drugs used to treat it -- ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). This is just a theory, since there's no research yet on what impact, if any, these medications might have on COVID-19.

The theory is based on the fact that ACE inhibitors and ARBs raise levels of an enzyme called ACE2 in your body. And to infect cells, the COVID-19 virus must attach itself to ACE2.

Until more research comes out, the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association recommend that you keep taking your high blood pressure medicine as prescribed. If you don’t, it could raise your risk for a heart attack or stroke, putting you in the hospital just as coronavirus cases are coming in.

While pneumonia is the most common complication of the virus, it can also damage the cardiovascular system. That’s why people with high blood pressure, heart disease, and heart failure are at risk.