What features separate a hypertensive urgency for an emergency?
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(C) Signs of end-organ damage are what differentiate Hypertensive Urgency from Emergency, and thus determine the need for emergency treatment. Hypertensive Urgency can be treated with oral or IV medications on the floor with individual doses.
How do you know a patient is having hypertensive urgency vs hypertensive emergency?
Persons with hypertensive urgency may experience severe headache, shortness of breath, nosebleed, or anxiety. With hypertensive emergency, the clinical presentation will depend on the particular organ that is undergoing injury, in addition to other symptoms, such as headache.
Can hypertensive urgency cause hypertensive emergency?

Patients with hypertensive urgency should be treated appropriately if not they can progress to hypertensive emergency with end-organ damage. Long term complications associated with uncontrolled hypertension include: Myocardial infarction. Stroke.
What is considered HTN urgency?
Severe asymptomatic hypertension, or hypertensive urgency, is defined as severely elevated blood pressure (180 mm Hg or more systolic, or 110 mm Hg or more diastolic) without acute target organ injury.

Is hypertensive urgency the same as hypertension?
Hypertensive urgency is a condition in which severe uncontrolled hypertension (generally, SBP >179 mmHg or a DBP >109 mmHg) is observed in a patient who may have evidence of previous end-organ damage related to hypertension, but in whom there exists no evidence of ongoing or imminent target organ dysfunction related to …
How do you manage hypertensive emergency?
If the blood pressure remains elevated after beta blockade, a vasodilator such as intravenous nitroglycerin or nitroprusside may be administered. The drugs of choice in treating a hypertensive emergency with acute pulmonary edema are intravenous nitroglycerin, clevidipine, or nitroprusside (1,2,5).
Why is nicardipine used in hypertensive emergency?
— Intravenous nicardipine can reduce blood pressure by 15%–20% without impairing blood supply to the brain in hypertensive emergencies, preliminary results from an ongoing case-control study suggest.
What causes hypertensive urgency?
Causes of a hypertensive emergency include: Forgetting to take your blood pressure medication. Stroke. Heart attack.
Why is sodium nitroprusside used as a drug of choice for hypertensive crisis?
Sodium nitroprusside is the drug of choice for hypertensive emergencies accompanied by acute pulmonary oedema because of its rapid BP reduction and quick onset of action, but it has some disadvantages as a vasodilator.
What is the drug of choice for hypertensive urgency?
The traditional drug of choice for therapy of hypertensive emergencies is sodium nitroprusside. Intravenous labetalol produces a prompt, controlled reduction in blood pressure and is a promising alternative. Other agents used are diazoxide, trimethaphan camsylate, hydralazine, nitroglycerin, and phentolamine.
What BP is hypertensive crisis?
A hypertensive crisis is a severe increase in blood pressure that can lead to a stroke. Extremely high blood pressure — a top number (systolic pressure) of 180 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or higher or a bottom number (diastolic pressure) of 120 mm Hg or higher — can damage blood vessels.