Usefulness of speckle tracking echocardiography in hypertensive crisis and the effect of medical treatment

Cardiac Complications of Hypertensive Emergency: Classification, Diagnosis and Management Challenges

While mortality in patients with hypertensive emergency has significantly improved over the past decades, the incidence and complications associated with acute hypertension-mediated organ damage have not followed a similar trend. Hypertensive emergency is characterized by an abrupt surge in blood pressure, mostly occurring in people with pre-existing hypertension to result in acute hypertension-mediated organ damage. Acute hypertension-mediated organ damage commonly affects the cardiovascular system, and present as acute heart failure, myocardial infarction, and less commonly, acute aortic syndrome. Elevated cardiac troponin with or without myocardial infarction is one of the major determinants of outcome in hypertensive emergency. Despite being an established entity distinct from myocardial infarction, myocardial injury has not been systematically studied in hypertensive emergency. The current guidelines on the evaluation and management of hypertensive emergencies limit the cardiac troponin assay to patients presenting with features of myocardial ischemia and acute coronary syndrome, resulting in underdiagnosis, especially of atypical myocardial infarction. In this narrative review, we aimed to give an overview of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of hypertensive emergencies, highlight challenges in the evaluation, classification, and treatment of hypertensive emergency, and propose an algorithm for the evaluation and classification of cardiac acute hypertension-mediated organ damage.

Morphological and functional cardiac consequences of rapid hypertension treatment: a cohort study

BACKGROUND

Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH) in uncontrolled hypertension is an independent predictor of mortality, though its regression with treatment improves outcomes. Retrospective data suggest that early control of hypertension provides a prognostic advantage and this strategy is included in the 2018 European guidelines, which recommend treating grade II/III hypertension to target blood pressure (BP) within 3 months. The earliest LVH regression to date was demonstrated by echocardiography at 24 weeks. The effect of a rapid guideline-based treatment protocol on LV remodelling, with very early BP control by 18 weeks remains controversial and previously unreported. We aimed to determine whether such rapid hypertension treatment is associated with improvements in LV structure and function through paired cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) scanning at baseline and 18 weeks, utilising CMR mass and feature tracking analysis.

METHODS

We recruited participants with never-treated grade II/III hypertension, initiating a guideline-based treatment protocol which aimed to achieve BP control within 18 weeks. CMR and feature tracking were used to assess myocardial morphology and function immediately before and after treatment.

RESULTS

We acquired complete pre- and 18-week post-treatment data for 41 participants. During the interval, LV mass index reduced significantly (43.5 ± 9.8 to 37.6 ± 8.3 g/m2, p < 0.001) following treatment, accompanied by reductions in LV ejection fraction (65.6 ± 6.8 to 63.4 ± 7.1%, p = 0.03), global radial strain (46.1 ± 9.7 to 39.1 ± 10.9, p < 0.001), mid-circumferential strain (- 20.8 ± 4.9 to - 19.1 ± 3.7, p = 0.02), apical circumferential strain (- 26.0 ± 5.3 to - 23.4 ± 4.2, p = 0.003) and apical rotation (9.8 ± 5.0 to 7.5 ± 4.5, p = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

LVH regresses following just 18 weeks of intensive antihypertensive treatment in subjects with newly-diagnosed grade II/III hypertension. This is accompanied by potentially advantageous functional changes within the myocardium and supports the hypothesis that rapid treatment of hypertension could improve clinical outcomes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN registry number: 57475376 (assigned 25/06/2015).

Strain analysis for the identification of hypertensive cardiac end-organ damage in the emergency department

Hypertensive emergency is a life-threatening state. End-organ damage affecting the heart accounts for up to 52% of hypertensive emergencies commonly encountered in the emergency department. Recent evidence indicates that strain echocardiography with computerized speckle-tracking is more sensitive at identifying hypertension induced changes in the left ventricle (LV) mechanical function than traditional 2-D echocardiography. We present a case demonstrating the use of emergency physician performed point-of-care strain echocardiography to identify and quantify LV mechanical dysfunction during a hypertensive crisis and to monitor improvement over 6 h.

Hypertensive crisis: an update on clinical approach and management

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Here, we review current concepts on hypertensive crisis (HTN-C) with a focus on epidemiology, causes, pathophysiology and prognosis. We also offer a practical approach to the management of HTN-C.

RECENT FINDINGS

HTN-C is characterized by a severe and abrupt increase in blood pressure (BP) with impending or progressive acute end-organ damage (EOD). HTN-C can be divided into hypertensive emergency (HTN-E) and hypertensive urgency (HTN-U) based on the presence or absence of acute EOD, respectively. Recent retrospective studies have demonstrated that emergency department (ED) referrals from an outpatient clinic or rapid BP-lowering strategies in the ED do not lead to improved outcomes in patients with HTN-U.

SUMMARY

HTN-C can be a de-novo manifestation or a complication of essential or secondary HTN. The presence of acute EOD is a major poor prognostic indicator in HTN-C. The main objectives of the management of HTN-C are distinction of HTN-E from HTN-U and appropriate risk stratification, prevention or regression of acute EOD due to severely elevated BP, prevention of recurrence of HTN-C with an effective long-term management plan and avoidance of rapid lowering of BP except in some special circumstances. The majority of patients with asymptomatic HTN-U can be safely managed in the outpatient setting without exposing them to the risks of aggressive BP lowering. However, patients with HTN-E require hospitalization, prompt treatment and close monitoring.

Cardiovascular Hypertensive Crisis: Recent Evidence and Review of the Literature

Despite the high prevalence of hypertension (HTN), only a small proportion of the hypertensive patients will ultimately develop hypertensive crisis. In fact, some patients with hypertensive crisis do not report a history of HTN or previous use of antihypertensive medication. The majority of the patients with hypertensive crisis often report non-specific symptoms, whereas heart-related symptoms (dyspnea, chest pain, arrhythmias, and syncope) are less common. Hypertensive crises can be divided into hypertensive emergencies or hypertensive urgencies according to the presence or absence of acute target organ damage, respectively. This differentiation is an extremely useful classification in clinical practice since a different management is needed, which in turn has a significant effect on the morbidity and mortality of these patients. Therefore, it is very crucial for the physician in the emergency department to identify the hypertensive emergencies and to manage them through blood pressure lowering medications in order to avoid further target organ damage or deterioration. The aim of this narrative review is to summarize the recent evidence in an effort to improve the awareness, recognition, risk stratification, and treatment of hypertensive crisis in patients referred to the emergency department.

An update on hypertensive emergencies and urgencies

Severe acute arterial hypertension is usually defined as 'hypertensive crisis', although 'hypertensive emergencies' or 'hypertensive urgencies', as suggested by the Joint National Committee and the European Society of Hypertension, have completely different diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.The prevalence and demographics of hypertensive emergencies and urgencies have changed over the last four decades, but hypertensive emergencies and urgencies are still associated with significant morbidity and mortality.Different scientific societies have repeatedly produced up-to-date guidelines; however, the treatment of hypertensive emergencies and urgencies is still inappropriate, with potential clinical implications.This review focuses on hypertensive emergencies and urgencies management and treatment, as suggested by recent data.