Management involves quickly administering blood pressure-lowering medications. Generally, IV injection is done. Then, your blood pressure will be monitored frequently to ensure the medications are working.
For hypertensive crises that also involve other conditions like myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or pulmonary edema, these conditions will also be treated. Hypertensive crisis is not a condition that can be treated at home, therefore a trip to the emergency room is necessary.
Gestational hypertension
Another emergency caused by high blood pressure is gestational hypertension. A woman may experience a spike in her blood pressure sometime after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Preeclampsia is a disorder that includes high blood pressure, protein in her urine, and edema.
When left untreated, preeclampsia can progress into eclampsia which results in seizures due to high blood pressure. Eclampsia is a type of hypertensive crisis during pregnancy. Although it is rare, eclampsia puts both the mother and child’s life at risk.
Management of gestational hypertension is different from other types of hypertensive disorders because many of the medications can harm the fetus.
Some medications used to reduce blood pressure include vasodilators, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers. For women who have already had hypertension prior to pregnancy, their medications may be different.
Key takeaways
In summary, hypertension management centers around one main goal: to lower blood pressure. Each stage of hypertension requires a different approach and target blood pressure.
As usual, prevention is better than cure, especially with conditions like hypertension. Therefore, maintaining a healthy diet, active lifestyle, and regularly taking your prescribed medications will help keep your blood pressure under control.
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