Severe acute arterial hypertension is usually defined as ‘hypertensive crisis’, although ‘hypertensive emergencies’ or ‘hypertensive urgencies’, as suggested by the Joint National Committee and the European Society of Hypertension, have completely different diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
The prevalence and demographics of hypertensive emergencies and urgencies have changed over the last four decades, but hypertensive emergencies and urgencies are still associated with significant morbidity and mortality.
Different scientific societies have repeatedly produced up-to-date guidelines; however, the treatment of hypertensive emergencies and urgencies is still inappropriate, with potential clinical implications.
This review focuses on hypertensive emergencies and urgencies management and treatment, as suggested by recent data.
aDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Sciences University of Brescia, 25100 Spedali Civili, Brescia
bDepartment of Medical-Surgery Sciences and Translational Medicine, Emergency Department, University La Sapienza, Sant’Andrea Hospital Rome, Rome
cDepartment of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pavia, Lombardy
dDepartment of Internal Medicine 1, USL12 Veneziana, Venice
eDepartment of Medicine, University of Padua, Padova
fDepartment of ScienzeMediche e Chirurgiche, S.Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Bologna
gDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicina Clinica e Molecolare, University Roma ‘Sapienza’ – Azienda Ospedaliera Sant’Andrea, and IRCCS Neuromed, Rome
hDivision of Cardiology, AOU Sassari, Sassari
iDepartment of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Siena, Tuscany
jCardiovascular Disease Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Tranplantation, University of Bari, Bari
kAS Department of Cardiology, Brindisi District, Brindisi
lDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Florence, Florence
mDepartment of Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Palermo, Palermo
nDipartimento di Patologia Chirurgica, Medica, Molecolare e dell’Area Critica, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Correspondence to Maria Lorenza Muiesan, MD, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences University of Brescia, Spedali Civili, Brescia, 25100 Italy E-mail: marialorenza.muiesan@unibs.it
Received 23 May, 2014
Revised 3 September, 2014
Accepted 5 September, 2014
