Hypertension Crisis, When Should You See a Doctor?

Contents:

• Medical Video: New Guidelines for Management of High Blood Pressure
  
• What is a hypertensive crisis?
  
• What is urgency hypertension?
  
• What is hypertension emergency?
  
• Then, when should I seek medical help?
  

Medical Video: New Guidelines for Management of High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a chronic condition and causes damage to blood vessels and organs that generally occur for years. However, blood pressure can also increase quickly and quite severely. In medical terms, this condition is known as a hypertensive crisis. What is that? Find out the information below.

What is a hypertensive crisis?

The hypertension crisis is a term that covers urgency hypertension and hypertensive emergencies. Both of these conditions occur when blood pressure rises very high and occurs suddenly. If not treated immediately, both can cause strokes.

If the blood pressure test results show number 18o / 120 mmHG or higher, wait a few minutes and do the test again. If the reading is still at or above that level, you should seek emergency medical care for a hypertensive crisis.

If you cannot access emergency medical services, ask someone for help to take you to the hospital immediately.

What is urgency hypertension?

Hypertension urgency is a situation where your blood pressure is very high, reaching 180/120 mmHG or higher, but there are no symptoms of damage to organs. This condition can still be controlled with home remedies. Your blood pressure that has increased can be reduced within a few hours by taking blood pressure medications.

Some symptoms of organ damage are:

• severe headache
• hard to breathe
• nosebleed
• nervous

Treatment of hypertension urgency generally requires adjustment and / or additional doses of oral medication. Even so, in many cases this condition does not require hospitalization for rapid blood pressure reduction. A blood pressure reading of 180/120 or greater requires immediate treatment. This is because the initial handling of organ function and increased blood pressure in this condition is very important to determine the next treatment plan that is appropriate for the patient.

What is hypertension emergency?

Hypertensive emergencies occur when blood pressure reaches 180/120 mmHG or higher, accompanied by symptoms of damage to organs. Patients with this condition must immediately seek medical help at the nearest hospital.

Hypertensive emergencies can cause damage to blood vessels and other organs. For this reason, this condition needs to be addressed immediately to avoid dangerous complications.

Complications from hypertensive emergencies include:

• stroke
• heart attack
• heart failure
• kidney failure
• rupture of the main artery in the body (aorta)
• seizures during pregnancy (eclampsia)
• damage to the eyes and kidneys
• angina (unstable chest pain)
• pulmonary edema (fluid buildup in the lungs)

Then, when should I seek medical help?

The hypertension crisis is a condition that must be dealt with quickly. Immediately go to the doctor or go to the ED if your blood pressure test results show a figure of 180/120 mmHG or higher. Moreover, if you also experience symptoms of organ damage such as chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness or weakness, changes in vision, and difficulty speaking.

Don't wait for your blood pressure to go down and immediately ask someone to take you to the hospital emergency room.

Below is a brief summary of the stages of severe to severe blood pressure: