The Role of Anxiolytics in Hypertensive Urgency Management

Current guidelines do not cover hypertensive urgency management in out-of-hospital setting. Main goal of this study was to evaluate the value of anxiolytic therapy in hypertensive urgencies. We analyzed data gathered by out-of-hospital unit set up during one year. Arterial hypertension was the primary diagnosis in 178 (6.11%) patients, of whom 144 had hypertensive urgency with mean SBP reduction 19.5±7.2%; control group 10.1±6.9%. Anxiolytic therapy was administered in 60% of patients in hypertensive urgency group, and they had a statistically significant greater SBP reduction (p=0.03) than patients who did not receive anxiolytic therapy. There is a place for anxiolytic therapy in hypertensive urgency management.