Hypertension, including hypertensive emergencies
Confirming the diagnosis out of clinic, when to look for secondary causes, drug choice and targets, resistant hypertension and hypertensive emergencies.
Tier 1Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Confirm with ambulatory or home BP before labelling anyone hypertensive. White-coat hypertension is common; masked hypertension is easily missed.
- Treat on absolute cardiovascular risk plus BP level. BP persistently at 160/100 or more is treated whatever the risk.
- Most patients need two drugs; ESC 2024 starts most with a single-pill combination.
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Sources
- Guideline for the diagnosis and management of hypertension in adults 2016AU/NZNational Heart Foundation of Australia, 2016
- Australian guideline for assessing and managing cardiovascular disease riskAU/NZCommonwealth of Australia (Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance), 2023
- McEvoy JW, McCarthy CP, Bruno RM et al. 2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension. Eur Heart J 2024;45:3912-4018. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehae178European Society of Cardiology, 2024
- Jones DW, Ferdinand KC, Taler SJ et al. 2025 AHA/ACC/AANP/AAPA/ABC/ACCP/ACPM/AGS/AMA/ASPC/NMA/PCNA/SGIM Guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation and management of high blood pressure in adults. J Am Coll Cardiol 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2025.05.007American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, 2025
- SOMANZ Hypertension in Pregnancy Guideline 2023: executive summary of recommendationsAU/NZSociety of Obstetric Medicine of Australia and New Zealand, 2023
- Primary aldosteronism clinical practice guidelineEndocrine Society, 2025
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy