Recent Advances in the Treatment of Hypertensive Emergencies

Approximately 73.6 million people in the United States aged 20 years or older are affected by hypertension.¹  Although significant improvements have been made with regard to awareness and treatment of hypertension, approximately 30% of adults are still unaware of their disease.²  Up to 40% of people with hypertension are not receiving treatment, and up to 67% of those treated are not achieving blood pressure control.²  Hypertension is one of the most common chronic medical conditions, and it occurs almost twice as frequently in African Americans as in whites.³  The rate is slightly higher in women than in men, and the incidence increases with age.^4,5 

In its seventh report, the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure provided categorical definitions of hypertension, which are presented in Table 1.²  A hypertensive crisis is defined as an acute...