Key result
The core principle in managing hypertensive crises is differentiating between emergencies and urgencies based on acute target organ dysfunction, treating the patient rather than the blood pressure value.
The core principle in managing hypertensive crises is differentiating emergencies from urgencies based on acute target organ dysfunction, treating the patient rather than just the blood pressure value.
Hypertensive crises, a medical umbrela-term, include all conditions which are associated with an elevated blood pressure. They represent a frequent reason of presentation at the emergency department or at the office, and the key element in their management is differentiating between cases which require or not an emergency intervention. The core principle of this differentation is the presence of acute target organ dysfunction, which determines whether the clinical scenario is concordant with a hypertensive emergency or urgency. While a severe increase in blood pressure is frequent, the need for emergency intervention is rarely needed. When employed, in the case of hypertensive emergencies and not urgencies, its aim is to rapidly reduce blood pressure values for life-saving purposes. Meanwhile, in a hypertensive urgency, the therapeutic intervention is delayed and programmed in order to reestablish hypertension control in the medium term and improve long-term prognosis. Eventually, in all hypertensive crises, the core principle is to treat the patient and not the blood pressure value.
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Weiss et al. (2018) conducted a review in Hypertensive crises. Blood pressure reduction was evaluated. The core principle in managing hypertensive crises is differentiating between emergencies and urgencies based on acute target organ dysfunction, treating the patient rather than the blood pressure value.
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