Management of hypertensive crises

Hypertensive crises are now uncommon in developed countries, and few doctors will have experience in their management. A review of the drugs used by clinicians in Scotland suggests considerable diversity in approach but broadly follows the best advice that is available in the literature. For emergencies such as hypertensive encephalopathy and hypertension associated with aortic dissection in which irreversible damage would occur within hours if left untreated, patients should probably be admitted to Intensive Care Units and be given nitroprusside. Similarly nitroprusside or nitroglycerin would be appropriate choice for hypertension that is complicated by acute left ventricular failure. By contrast if the risk to the patient is measured in days rather than hours then oral therapy will be quite sufficient. Atenolol or nifedipine retard can safely be given as initial treatment for uncomplicated malignant hypertension, and nifedipine retard can be used for the milder cases of encephalopathy or heart failure. The use of sublingual drugs in the management of hypertensive emergencies and urgencies cannot be recommended as the fall in blood pressure is both unpredictable and uncontrolled with the consequent and unacceptable risk of organ ischaemia.