title: [Hypertensive emergencies in adults: a practical review].
abstract: Hypertensive emergencies must be distinguished from severe blood pressure elevations without acute target organ damage. Clinical examination (chest pain, dyspnoea, neurological disorders, ECG, retinal examination) and laboratory tests (blood and urine tests, cerebral imaging in case of neurological disorders) have to be immediately performed. Immediate referral to an intensive care unit is indicated, and an intravenous antihypertensive therapy has to be implemented. Blood pressure objectives depend on the associated acute pathology (myocardial infarction, pulmonary oedema, aortic dissection, severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia of pregnancy, hypertensive encephalopathy, retinopathy, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebral hemorrhage, ischemic stroke treated or not with thrombolysis).
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers, CHU de Poitiers, centre de prévention des maladies cardiaques et vasculaires, Poitiers, faculté de médecine et de pharmacie, 86021 Poitiers, France. p.sosner@chu-poitiers.fr
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sosner
authors.forename: Pierre-François
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Plouin
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herpin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare; D000465:Algorithms; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D015984:Causality; D003422:Critical Care; D003663:Decision Trees; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004630:Emergencies; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents