• Paul E Marik and Racquel Rivera.
• Department of Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, USA. marikpe@evms.edu
• Curr Opin Crit Care. 2011 Dec 1;17(6):569-80.

Purpose Of ReviewSystemic hypertension (HTN) is a common medical condition affecting over 1 billion people worldwide. One to two percent of patients with HTN develop acute elevations of blood pressure (hypertensive crises) that require medical treatment. However, only patients with true hypertensive emergencies require the immediate and controlled reduction of blood pressure with an intravenous antihypertensive agent.Recent FindingsAlthough the mortality from hypertensive emergencies has decreased, the prevalence and demographics of this disorder have not changed over the last 4 decades. Clinical experience and reported data suggest that patients with hypertensive urgencies are frequently inappropriately treated with intravenous antihypertensive agents, whereas patients with true hypertensive emergencies are overtreated with significant complications.SummaryDespite published guidelines, most patients with hypertensive crises are poorly managed with potentially severe outcomes.

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