Defines hypertensive emergencies and urgencies based on blood pressure thresholds and target organ damage, noting the need for intensified therapy in urgencies.
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Expert consensus guides drug selection in hypertensive emergencies; leaves open optimal agents for mortality reduction.
Hypertensive emergencies are diagnosed if there is a systolic blood pressure higher than 180 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure higher than 120 mmHg with the presence of acute target organ damage (1-6). Hypertensive urgencies are diagnosed if there is a systolic blood pressure higher than 180 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure higher than 120 mmHg in an otherwise stable person without clinical or laboratory evidence of acute target organ damage (1-6). These persons need intensification of their antihypertensive drug therapy.
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Wilbert S. Aronow (2017) studied this question.
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