Methods:
This was a retrospective cohort study.  We researched the EPIC system of the Beaumont Health system, Michigan for subjects who were admitted to the eight Beaumont hospitals and tested positive for COVID-19 from February 1st to April 30th 2020. We included only COVID-19 patients who have hypertension diagnoses in their charts. We excluded subjects with missing information on one of the possible predictor factors (BMI) (figure 2). We followed subjects for thirty days after admission. The two primary outcomes were 30 days COVID-19 mortality and ICU admission rates. We used ICU admission rate as a marker of COVID-19 severity. We defined ICU admission as admission to intensive care units or progressive care units (PCU)since the admission criteria for both units include the use of invasive or non-invasive ventilatory support or vasopressors which indicate severe disease.