Am Fam Physician. 2026;113(1):100-101
Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships.
KEY POINTS FOR PRACTICE
| • Hypertensive emergency with signs of new or ongoing target-organ injury requires immediate treatment, with BP goals based on the specific injury. |
| • Asymptomatic markedly elevated BP may be due to measurement issues or temporary, reversible factors related to the patient or hospitalization and often does not need to be treated. |
| • BP levels can take days to weeks to respond to medication changes, and these changes are best initiated in outpatient primary care. |
| From the AFP Editors |
Elevated blood pressure (BP) is often seen in clinical settings, especially in acute care where the clinical significance can be difficult to determine. Although hypertensive emergencies occur in 0.2% of adult emergency department visits, mortality rates have decreased over the past 20 years. Asymptomatic elevated BP measurements are present in up to 72% of hospitalized patients. The American Heart Association published a scientific statement summarizing the evidence of risks and management of elevated BP in acute care settings.
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