Hypertension: What is an Emergency?

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TOMA/TXACOFP 17th Annual Convention

Primary Care and emergency physicians do not always have a shared understanding of the most appropriate approach to the patient with acutely elevated blood pressure or what should be communicated to patients. This session will explore the evidence surrounding acute blood pressure elevation, how it should be approached, and which patients should get referred to the ED for emergent treatment and/or hospitalization verses those who can be managed by primary care as outpatients.

Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:

1. Be able to stratify the patient with elevated blood pressure
2. Develop strategies for treating elevated blood pressures in the ED
3. Know the impact of recent studies and guideline updates on hypertension treatment
4. Discuss evidenced-based recommendations on how severe hypertension is managed in the Emergency Department
5. Describe patients who should be sent to the ER verses asked to come in for a primary care appointment