There is important evidence in favor of the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors for treating hypertensive urgencies , compared with calcium channel blockers , considering the better effectiveness and the lower frequency of adverse effects ( like headache and flushing )
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Hypertensive urgencies are defined as severe elevations in blood pressure without evidence of acute or progressive target-organ damage .
The need for treatment is considered urgent but allows for slow control using oral or sublingual drugs .
If the increase in blood pressure is not associated with risk to life or acute target-organ damage , blood pressure control must be implemented slowly over 24 hours .
For hypertensive urgencies , it is not known which class of antihypertensive drug provides the best results and there is controversy regarding when to use antihypertensive drugs and which ones to use in these situations .
The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness and safety of oral drugs for hypertensive urgencies .
[Prevalence, forms of clinical presentation and treatment of arterial hypertension at an emergency unit].
In order to determine the prevalence of arterial hypertension and clinical presentation of the hypertensive crisis , as well as the need and efficacy of treatment , 3626 patients who were seen at an Emergency care Unit during a period of 37 r and omly chosen days in a total time period of three months , have been studied . Two hundred and fifty one patients presented arterial hypertension , defined as a systolic arterial pressure above 160 mmHg and /or diastolic above 95 mmHG , which represents 6,92 % of medical emergencies and 1.79 % of total emergencies . Only 104 patients ( 2.86 % ) seeked help for some pathology related to hypertension , of whom 49 ( 19.5 % of hypertense patients ) presented as a hypertensive emergency , being the acute lung edema and unstable angina the most frequently encountered emergencies . Nifedipine was the most frequently used drug in both groups and managed to control pressure levels in almost 90 % of patients with a hypertensive emergency in a mean time of less than one hour
There is important evidence in favor of the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors for treating hypertensive urgencies , compared with calcium channel blockers , considering the better effectiveness and the lower frequency of adverse effects ( like headache and flushing )
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Hypertensive urgencies are defined as severe elevations in blood pressure without evidence of acute or progressive target-organ damage .
The need for treatment is considered urgent but allows for slow control using oral or sublingual drugs .
If the increase in blood pressure is not associated with risk to life or acute target-organ damage , blood pressure control must be implemented slowly over 24 hours .
For hypertensive urgencies , it is not known which class of antihypertensive drug provides the best results and there is controversy regarding when to use antihypertensive drugs and which ones to use in these situations .
The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness and safety of oral drugs for hypertensive urgencies .