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Clinical presentation of hypertensive crises in emergency medical services
Sabina Salkic1, Olivera Batic-Mujanovic2, Farid Ljuca3
1Emergency medical services, Community Health Centre Tuzla.
Insights
Hypertensive crises occurred in 47.22% of patients, with hypertensive emergencies more common than urgency. Symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath were prevalent in hypertensive crisis patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Emergency Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Arterial hypertension is a significant public health concern.
- Hypertensive crises represent a spectrum of acute, severe elevations in blood pressure.
- Understanding the incidence and presentation of hypertensive crises is crucial for emergency medical services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the incidence and clinical presentation of hypertensive crises.
- To analyze the relationship between hypertensive crises and patient demographics (age, sex).
- To identify common symptoms and clinical manifestations associated with hypertensive crises.
Main Methods:
- A study was conducted from November 2009 to April 2010.
- 180 adult patients (30-80 years) with arterial hypertension were included.
- Patients were divided into a control group (no crisis) and an experimental group (with crisis).
Main Results:
- Hypertensive crisis incidence was 47.22%, with emergencies (83.53%) more frequent than urgency (16.47%).
- Female subjects (60%) were over-represented compared to males (40%).
- Common symptoms included headache (75%), chest pain (48.33%), shortness of breath (38.88%), and nausea (33.89%).
Conclusions:
- Chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, and vomiting were significantly associated with hypertensive crisis.
- Hypertensive emergencies frequently presented with acute coronary syndrome.
- Acute pulmonary edema was a rare complication.
Objectives:
The objective of this study is to evaluate the incidence and clinical presentation of hypertensive crises in the Emergency medical services of the Community Health Centre "Dr. Mustafa Šehović" Tuzla in relation to age, sex, duration and severity of hypertension, as well as the prevalence of accompanying symptoms and clinical manifestations.
Methods:
The study was conducted between November 2009 and April 2010 and included 180 subjects of both sexes, aged 30-80 with a diagnosis of arterial hypertension. All subjects were divided into two groups: a control group, which consisted of subjects without hypertensive crisis (95 subjects) and an experimental group that consisted of subjects with hypertensive crisis (85 subjects).
Results:
The study results indicate that female subjects were significantly over- represented compared to men (60% vs. 40 %, p=0.007). The average age of the male subjects was 55.83±11.06 years, while the female subjects' average age was 59.41±11.97 years. The incidence of hypertensive crisis was 47.22%, with hypertensive urgency significantly more represented than emergency (16.47% vs. 83.53%, p<0.0001). The majority of subjects in the experimental group (28.23%) belonged to the age group of 60-69 years of age: 26.76% urgency and 35.71% emergency. The most common accompanying symptoms in hypertensive subjects were headache (75%), chest pain (48.33%), vertigo (44.44%), shortness of breath (38.88%) and nausea (33.89%). The most common symptoms in subjects with hypertensive crisis were headache (74.11%), chest pain and shortness of breath (62.35%), vertigo (49.41%), and nausea and vomiting (41.17%).
Conclusions:
Chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting were significantly over-represented in subjects with hypertensive crisis (p<0.005). Clinical manifestations of hypertensive emergencies in almost all subjects included acute coronary syndrome, and only one subject had acute pulmonary edema.
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