HYPERTENSIVE URGENCIES
The caveat with hypertensive urgencies is that “elevated blood pressure alone rarely requires emergency therapy.” The initial triage should identify those patients who have an elevated blood pressure without any evidence of significant target organ damage and no evidence of other impending cardiovascular events. An effort should be made to separate out those patients with severely elevated blood pressure and clinical evidence of target organ damage who may benefit from a period of observation in the emergency department following the administration of one or several oral medications to reduce blood pressure over a period of several hours. If clinically stable, these patients can safely be sent home with oral medications, with arrangements made for a follow-up visit within 24 hours in an outpatient setting. Several oral agents can provide a rapid response in blood pressure within 1–3 hours. Control efforts can then be continued under the supervision of a primary physician. Most patients with hypertensive urgencies are previously diagnosed hypertensives who are either noncompliant with therapy or are receiving inadequate therapy to control blood pressure. Further evaluation, if needed, can then be performed in the outpatient setting.
To discharge the patient from an emergency room without a confirmed follow-up appointment is a missed opportunity to get that patient back into treatment, and optimal control of blood pressure should be a management goal. For the patient with elevated blood pressure and no evidence of target organ damage or other acute cardiovascular problems, reassurance and a period of observation in the emergency department may be appropriate, particularly if an anxiety-related event is suspected. For those patients inadequately treated or noncompliant with therapy, medication may be resumed or modified and arrangements made for outpatient follow-up within several days. For the occasional patient with previously undiagnosed hypertension, efforts should be made to confirm access to a primary physician for follow-up blood pressure screening and evaluation, if indicated. For most patients who are noncompliant with therapy or undertreated by their primary physician, the recommendations outlined in the Joint National Committee VI Guidelines are appropriate.