Background: The prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension remains a significant concern in public healthcare systems, including daily practices of emergency departments (ED).
Aim: We aimed to characterize patients admitted to an ED for elevated blood pressure (BP) and to identify factors leading to hospitalization.
Methods: This retrospective analysis included all patients admitted to an ED in a tertiary hospital in 2022 due to an acute BP rise without hypertensive emergencies.
Results: The studied group (n = 570) constituted 1.5% of all ED admissions in 2022. The median age was 67 years (Q1-Q3) (52-75), 68.9% were females. Systolic BP (200 mm Hg [180-212]) and diastolic BP (105 mm Hg [100-115]) at home were higher than during triage (173 mm Hg [160-190] and 95 mm Hg [84-103], respectively [P <0.0001]). Thirty-nine percent of the studied population had taken BP-lowering agents before ED admission (captopril in 91.8% of cases). In the ED, nitrendipine (54.2%), captopril (38.1%), furosemide (16.3%), urapidil (10.0%), and nitroglycerine (1.9%) were administered. Eventually, a median of 140/82 mm Hg BP was reached in the median time of 288 minutes (202-400). Hospitalization was necessary in 5.4% of patients. The need for furosemide or urapidil administration in the ED doubled the risk of hospitalization (OR, 2.0; P <0.01). Before ED admission, only 17.0% of patients received guidelines-recommended single-pill combination therapy, and 17.6% had already visited ED for uncontrolled hypertension (median of 388 days earlier).
Conclusions: Elevated BP is a common reason for admission to the ED. Crucially, improvements in long-term hypertension treatment and education are needed to reduce the number of patients seeking ED care for elevated BP.
Keywords: emergency department; hypertensive urgency; uncontrolled hypertension.