Nurses,what is the highest BP you've ever seen recorded on a pt.?

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when my mom was in the hospital last month,there was an ECG monitor in her room that got there from the trauma center and it showed the previous 5 recordings. the first BP recording of this trauma patient was 285/168. that was the highest that i have ever seen. my mom has hypertension and a few years ago,she has a reading of 230/155 and a capillary in her nose burst and she had a nosebleed that lasted 10 minutes. nurses,can you remember the highest ever that you've seen on a patient??

Highest arterial systolic blood pressure was 314/140 this was post extubation and the pt was ++ anxious and developed flash pulmonary edema from that increased SVR afterload and the removal of the positive pressure ventilation. Scariest moment of my nursing career and my hand were shaking since I wasn't prepared. Thank goodness for the 2 other nurses helping me who ran to get drugs as fast the the physician was yelling them out. We treated the pressure with hydralazine 10mg IV, 3 nitro sprays, a 0.8mg nitro patch, lasix 80mg IV and ativan 2 mg IV. The pressure slowly came down over the course of 10 minutes. Yup I definitely need to realize I'm in the ICU and this is what I signed up for. Hopefully my nerves get under control in these situations.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Transplant, Education.

As far as I can remember, my career high (or pretty close to it) was 224/87 just last night on a kidney transplant patient. 5mg of iv hydralazine and 10mg amlodipine later he came down to 170s...always makes me nervous when they have super high pressures.

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230/130. Dialysis patient had a stroke. Young man, great guy, one of my favorite patients. RIP.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

I've seen systolic in the 240's before with multiple patients in the ER. Honestly, unless they are that hypertensive AND symptomatic we usually don't (usually) aggressively attempt to bring it down with iv meds. If we bring down a chronically hypertensive pt quick we always run the risk of inducing ischemia. Now, if they don't respond well (if at all) to PO meds, we will try iv meds. Honestly, at that point they are usually on the floor.

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360/235

I work in the ICU and the RN accidentally overshot the epinephrine after the patient was hypotensive and non-responsive to levophed.

It lasted less than a minute.

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360/235

I work in the ICU and the RN accidentally overshot the epinephrine after the patient was hypotensive and non-responsive to levophed.

It lasted less than a minute.

You win!

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350s systolic- intubated trauma patient whose arm had been nearly ripped off.

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Back when we used actual mercury manometers to take blood pressure (for those of you young'uns who wonder why it's always given in millimeters of mercury, mmHg), the top of the column said "300" and the name of the manufacturer and the patent information. Therefore, our superhigh BPs were colloquially known as "Patent pending over ..."

The highest one I ever recorded was "Patent pending / 286." :wideyed:

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

Sort of related, but I am amazed at the younger people that come in with high BPs: 20 year olds that are 160s, 170s and tachy. It scares me.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, C-NPT, FP-C.

260s / 170s. On an acute CVA patient I flew out of the field. HR was only about 30 too, so it was a rather large pucker factor to see Cushings triad that clearly.

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Systolic in 260s, I don't remember the diastolic. Dialysis pt prisoner stopped taking his "keep on person"meds because he wanted a hospital vacation. He got it.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

In an agitated vented patient on an art line her BP was 300/120. Some IV labatelol fixed that.

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