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[Hypertensive blood pressure in elderly patients in emergency care]
R Breidung1, S Heuner, K Hager
1Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin und Gerontologie, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.
Insights
Emergency room visits reveal that many older adults have untreated arterial hypertension. Geriatric medicine is crucial for managing high blood pressure in elderly patients seeking emergency care.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Cardiology
- Emergency Medicine
Context:
- Analysis of 1143 emergency outpatient records concerning arterial hypertension.
- Significant proportion of patients over 70 years old presenting with hypertension.
- High prevalence of hypertension in the elderly population (one in three).
Purpose:
- To evaluate age-dependent challenges in managing arterial hypertension in emergency settings.
- To assess current treatment practices for hypertension in emergency outpatients.
- To highlight the role of geriatric considerations in emergency care.
Summary:
- Approximately 50% of hypertensive patients received treatment, irrespective of age.
- Commonly prescribed first-line drugs included nitrates and nifedipine.
- Elderly patients showed a preference for nitrates, furosemide, and intravenous urapidil, potentially due to comorbidities.
- Sedatives were also utilized as part of broader antihypertensive strategies.
Impact:
- Underscores the necessity of addressing and treating elevated blood pressure during emergency medical interventions.
- Emphasizes the critical role of geriatric medicine in emergency departments due to the high number of elderly patients with hypertension.
- Informs emergency physicians about age-specific challenges and treatment preferences in hypertensive outpatients.
Abstract:
1143 records have been analysed in order to evaluate specific age-dependent problems of arterial hypertension in outpatients, asking for emergency treatment. 33 percent of these patients and half of those with hypertension were older than 70 years. In this age-group one out of three was hypertensive. Regardless of age, only about 50 percent were actually treated, with nitrates and nifedipine being the drugs of first choice. For elderly, nitrates and furosemide, probably due to other underlying diseases, as well as urapidil i.v., were preferred. For antihypertensive therapy in a broader sense also sedatives were used. These data underline the importance of considering and treating elevated blood pressure in the course of emergency treatments. The high proportion of elderly outpatients stresses the important role geriatric medicine plays for emergency physicians.