Emergency Hypertension 210/120 mmHg

tammy_zeidan09 · Nov 1, 2012

I'm really thinking it's hydtalizine. It was PO. And I mean it was def prn for htn crisis. 210/120 mmHG. Ugh I wish I can go back and look at his charts!

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Nov 1, 2012

tammy_zeidan09 said:

So I for some reason am having such a tough time remembering the name of a medication! I had clinical and was looking at a pt's meds. There was one antihypertensive drug I've never heard of and is RARELY used by the pt, which is why I don't remember it. It was a weird one, one with a long generic name. But it is indicated for emergency HTN for bp over 210/120 mmHg. I know this is so broad, but can anyone think of a antihypertensive that is commonly used for emergency HTN ?
It isn't lisinopril,metoprolol, lotensin, propranalol...I googled some to try to refresh my memory but had not like..

Maybe hydralizine? Has anyone heard of this treating emergency HTN or is it commonly used for general HTN

Thanks

Here's the thing... it's impossible for any of us to know. We can guess, but the only way to find out for sure would be to go back to this patient's chart. Facilities have different protocols and doctors within the same facility have different preferences for meds. At my old hospital, the medication would be hydralazine- that was our go to PRN for hypertension.

flipflopgenna · Nov 2, 2012

Gave my patient hydralazine today for treating high blood pressure.

tammy_zeidan09 · Nov 2, 2012

Thank you all! I know my question was so ridiculously broad! You've helped tons, I truly appreciate!

sapphire18 · Nov 2, 2012

Cardene? (can't remember how to spell the generic.) who the heck would give a PO med for a BP >200?! lol

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Nov 2, 2012

eCCU said:

One med that stood out in CCU was clonidine cause all those pts always came back with severe htn ....duff not like that little pill...:-(

that's because clonidine really needs to be ordered on a schedule, like TID, because it causes rebound HTN. I personally like clonidine, it works, I just hate it when physicians only want to order a one-time dose LOL.

sapphire18 said:

Cardene? (can't remember how to spell the generic.) who the heck would give a PO med for a BP >200?! LOL

My thought exactly LOL

tammy_zeidan09 · Nov 5, 2012

I GOT IT.

It was amodipine Norvasc.

hodgieRN · Nov 10, 2012

Norvasc is definitely used for chronic hypertesion. Probably what happened was the pt got some IV medication that brought it down to more suitable level, and then was placed on Novasc as scheduled dose. But just FYI Norvasc isn't used in hypertensive emergencies. That would be Nipride IV, Cardene, IV, Labetolol IV, or PRN hydralazine. I suspect the Norvasc came later. I mean, I hope a pt presenting with a B/P of 210/120 wasn't simply given Norvasc. The poor guy could be stroking at any minute! Yikes! Just my thought....

allnurses Guide · Nov 10, 2012

\ said:

So I for some reason am having such a tough time remembering the name of a medication! I had clinical and was looking at a pt's meds. There was one antihypertensive drug I've never heard of and is RARELY used by the pt, which is why I don't remember it. It was a weird one, one with a long generic name. But it is indicated for emergency HTN for bp over 210/120 mmHg. I know this is so broad, but can anyone think of a antihypertensive that is commonly used for emergency HTN ?
It isn't lisinopril,metoprolol, lotensin, propranalol...I googled some to try to refresh my memory but had not like..

Maybe hydralizine? Has anyone heard of this treating emergency HTN or is it commonly used for general HTN

Thankss

We use single dose hydalazine to rapidly reduce severe HTN. Given IV you can see a 20 pt drop in minutes. The half-life isn't long (3 hours) but the hypotensive effects persists up to 12 hours, or longer in some pts.

Norvasc is a great antihypertensive but it doesn't lower BP enough to be use emergently.