High blood pressure emergencies

High blood pressure is usually a chronic condition that gradually causes damage over the years. But sometimes blood pressure rises so quickly and severely that it becomes a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment, often with hospitalization.

In these situations, high blood pressure can cause:

• Memory loss, personality changes, trouble concentrating, irritability or progressive loss of consciousness
• Stroke
• Severe damage to your body's main artery (aortic dissection)
• Chest pain
• Heart attack
• Sudden impaired pumping of the heart, leading to fluid backup in the lungs resulting in shortness of breath (pulmonary edema)
• Sudden loss of kidney function
• Complications in pregnancy (preeclampsia or eclampsia)
• Blindness