Publication

Abstract : Hypertensive urgency poses a serious risk if not treated effectively. This study was conducted to assess the efficacy on intravenous hydralazine among patients with hypertensive urgency presenting to the Emergency room.A prospective observational study was conducted from October 2016 to March 2017, in the Emergency room of a tertiary care teaching hospital, among patients with hypertensive urgency i.e. BP greater than 180/120 mm Hg without target end-organ damage. Intravenous hydralazine 10mg, which is standard treatment protocol was administered. The BP were recorded after 30 and 60 minutes. Efficacy was measured in percentage reduction of systolic BP in one hour. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and inter-quartile range were used to summarize descriptive statistics. Paired t test and Student's t test were applied to test significance of differences. Total 79 patients with mean age of 58.53±14.543 years. Mean change in systolic blood pressure after 1 hour is 39.57±17.65 mm Hg (p value 60 yrs was 44.79±3.12 mm Hg. No adverse reactions were noted in the patients. The study reports that intravenous hydralazine is a safe and effective treatment for hypertensive urgency patients, also tendered to be more effective among geriatric age groups compared to other age groups in an emergency room setting.