A crisis of hypertension or hypertensive crisis is a situation that can occur at any age and is characterized by a rapid increase in blood pressure, usually around 200/100 mmHg and that if left untreated can lead to serious complications.
Most often, the hypertensive crisis is a result of inadequate management of already diagnosed hypertension, but it can also be found in people who have never had pressure problems.
How to diagnose a hypertensive crisis
When the pressure is high, symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, headache and neck pain can arise and in some cases may be associated with a serious illness such as a heart attack or stroke.
Types of hypertensive crisis
The hypertensive crisis can be of two types:
Hypertensive urgency
Hypertensive urgency occurs when there is an increase in blood pressure levels that may occur for the first time or be a decompensation.
In this case, there are no symptoms and there is no elevated risk of death. The use of oral medication without the need to decrease the pressure in less than 24 h is performed. In addition, there is no need for hospitalization, however the treatment has to be performed properly at home.
Hypertensive emergency
In the hypertensive emergency there is a sudden increase in blood pressure associated with organ damage and related to serious conditions such as acute myocardial infarction, hypertensive encephalopathy, acute pulmonary edema, hemorrhagic stroke or aortic dissection, for example.
In these cases, symptoms develop and must be hospitalized to stabilize the state of health and the pressure should be normalized in a few minutes up to 1 hour with the use of remedies by the vein to avoid more serious complications.
What to do in a hypertensive crisis
To treat a hypertensive crisis it is necessary to go to the emergency room quickly to do tests, such as measuring the pressure and performing an electrocardiogram recommended by the cardiologist.
The treatment varies according to the results of the tests, being that in most cases it is necessary to take medication for the heart and diuretics for the vein, for example.
Complications of the hypertension crisis
The main organs affected in a hypertensive crisis are the eyes, heart, brain and kidney, which can lead to its malfunction. In addition, in case of not doing proper treatment the risk of worsening the state of health is higher, which can lead to death.
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