Recommendations for the management of hypertensive crisis. a consensus document of the Chilean Society of Hypertension Recomendaciones para el manejo de las crisis hipertensivas: Documento de Consenso de la Sociedad Chilena de Hipertensión Arterial

Abstract

The management of severe hypertension in the emergency setting demands a careful evaluation of the different underlying clinical situations, and of the impending risk for the life of the patient or of acute organ damage. Hypertensive emergencies and urgencies have to be identified, and distinguished from chronic severe hypertension, a frequent presentation to the emergency services. A thorough clinical evaluation, and not the magnitude of the blood pressure elevation, should be the basis of the differential diagnosis; this will guide the setting required for treatment (intensive care unit, ward or ambulatory), the drugs of choice, as well as the velocity of blood pressure reduction. Special emphasis has to be given to the management of cerebrovascular accidents and severe preeclampsia, as the reduction of blood pressure entails a risk of hypoperfusion of critical territories as the brain and fetus respectively. A wide range of drugs permits a tailored treatment of a variety of clinical