Asymptomatic Acute Hypertension in Nursing Home Residents: Rarely an Emergency

Hypertension is extremely common in the geriatric population, with estimates as high as 75%. Among nursing home residents, the prevalence is even higher. Asymptomatic hypertension, an acute increase in blood pressure without end-organ involvement, is common in this patient population and results in many cases being transported and evaluated in an emergency department (ED). Many of these cases do not need ED evaluation. The Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation and Improved Care of Nursing Home Residents and ED Task Force, with representatives from the American College of Emergency Physicians and The Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association, present best practice recommendations for the management of acute blood pressure elevation without symptoms of hypertensive emergency in older patients, especially those residing in nursing homes.