Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Hypertensive Emergency

William D. Alley, Michael A. Schick  1
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Hypertensive Emergency

William D. Alley et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

A hypertensive emergency is an acute, marked elevation in blood pressure that is associated with signs of target-organ damage. These can include pulmonary edema, cardiac ischemia, neurologic deficits, acute renal failure, aortic dissection, and eclampsia.

If the patient has acute worsening of organ function, then the blood pressure needs to be decreased aggressively. In all other cases, the blood pressure should be lowered gradually to prevent dysfunction of the brain from low perfusion.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: William Alley declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Michael Schick declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Froehlich RJ, Maggio L, Has P, Vrees R, Hughes BL. Improving Obstetric Hypertensive Emergency Treatment in a Tertiary Care Women's Emergency Department. Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Oct;132(4):850-858. - PubMed
    1. Shao PJ, Sawe HR, Murray BL, Mfinanga JA, Mwafongo V, Runyon MS. Profile of patients with hypertensive urgency and emergency presenting to an urban emergency department of a tertiary referral hospital in Tanzania. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2018 Aug 02;18(1):158. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tocci G, Figliuzzi I, Presta V, Miceli F, Citoni B, Coluccia R, Musumeci MB, Ferrucci A, Volpe M. Therapeutic Approach to Hypertension Urgencies and Emergencies During Acute Coronary Syndrome. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev. 2018 Sep;25(3):253-259. - PubMed
    1. Paini A, Aggiusti C, Bertacchini F, Agabiti Rosei C, Maruelli G, Arnoldi C, Cappellini S, Muiesan ML, Salvetti M. Definitions and Epidemiological Aspects of Hypertensive Urgencies and Emergencies. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev. 2018 Sep;25(3):241-244. - PubMed
    1. Watson K, Broscious R, Devabhakthuni S, Noel ZR. Focused Update on Pharmacologic Management of Hypertensive Emergencies. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2018 Jun 08;20(7):56. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources