Outpatient Management of Asymptomatic Elevated Blood Pressure

Scope of Application

This guideline is intended for physicians working in emergency departments.

Inclusion Criteria

This guideline is intended for patients aged ≥18 years who present to the ED with asymptomatic elevated blood pressure without signs and symptoms of acute target organ injury.

Exclusion Criteria

This guideline is not intended for patients who present to the ED with signs or symptoms of acute hypertensive emergencies (ie, patients with clinical findings that suggest acute target organ injury such as acute stroke, cardiac ischemia, pulmonary edema, encephalopathy, and congestive heart failure), pregnant patients, patients with end-stage renal insufficiency, emergent conditions that are likely to cause elevated blood pressure not directly related to acute target organ injury (eg, trauma, other pain syndromes), and acute presentations of serious medical conditions associated with hypertension such as stroke, myocardial infarction, and congestive heart failure.

Recommendations offered in this policy are not intended to represent the only diagnostic and management options that the emergency physician should consider. ACEP recognizes the importance of the individual physician’s judgment and patient preferences.