With hypertensive urgency, there may be few signs (which is why it's important to regularly check your blood pressure). If your blood pressure reading is high, but you're experiencing no other symptoms, follow these steps:
- Wait: Wait five minutes.
- Monitor: Take your blood pressure reading again.
- Check for symptoms: Ask yourself if you're showing any symptoms of hypertensive emergency, including chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, back pain, or difficulty speaking.
- Schedule a doctor appointment: If you still show no symptoms, and you have no other risk factors, like congestive heart failure or chronic kidney disease, this is hypertensive urgency. You should speak to your healthcare provider about whether you need any changes in medications at a follow-up appointment, but hospitalization is rarely necessary.
During a hypertensive urgency, there is no evidence of possible organ damage, such as pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) or cardiac ischemia (which reduces the heart's ability to pump blood). Therefore, hospitalization is not necessary, and, according to some doctors, not recommended. Trying to rapidly lower blood pressure can be dangerous, and admitting someone to the ICU can cause unwanted medical bills.
WHAT TO DO FOR HYPERTENSIVE EMERGENCY
With hypertensive emergency, you will likely show the following signs: severe chest pain, severe headache, blurred vision, nausea, severe anxiety, shortness of breath, and seizures.
If your blood pressure jumps severely, and you show these warning signs, you should seek medical attention immediately and call the 911 emergency department.
The Only Emergency Treatment for High Blood Pressure at Home: Call 9-1-1
If you have chronically high blood pressure, you're probably aware of the scenarios listed above. We didn't review them to frighten you — we simply believe it's best to start with the risks and warning signs, then work backward to lay out a plan.
If you're over the age of 60 and have struggled with high blood pressure in the past, it's important to know how to treat high blood pressure at home. This is important not only for your personal well being, but for the peace of mind of those who love and care about you.
Be sure to have Snug installed on your phone, so you can check-in daily. If you miss a check-in, we’ll send a notification to your loved ones telling them to check on you.
Reminder: In a hypertensive emergency, there is no at-home treatment. Call 911, and go to the hospital. In the case of a hypertensive urgency, the best at-home treatment is long-term blood pressure control, which we'll review in the next section.
The one organ responsible for ALL cases of high blood pressure - read here
