The emergency management of severe hypertension

Severe hypertension in childhood is a life-threatening clinical problem tha t carries with it not only serious sequelae of inadequate treatment but equ ally serious complications of over enthusiastic therapy. The majority of ca ses have some form of underlying renal disease. Therapeutic success is achi eved by slow and safe reduction of blood pressure with the immediate target of avoiding hypertensive sequelae yet allowing preservation of target orga n function. Short-acting parenteral antihypertensives are recommended along with careful blood pressure monitoring to prevent complications arising th rough loss of autoregulatory control.