Effect of intravenous antihypertensives on outcomes of severe hypertension in hospitalized patients without acute target organ damage

Background: Treatment of severe inpatient hypertension (HTN) that develops during hospitalization is not informed by guidelines. Intravenous (i.v.) antihypertensives are used to manage severe HTN even in the absence of acute target organ damage; however they may result in unpredictable blood pressure (BP) reduction and cardiovascular events. Our goal was to assess the association between i.v. antihypertensives and clinical outcomes in this population.

Methods: This is a multihospital retrospective study of adults admitted for reasons other than HTN who develop severe HTN during hospitalization without acute target end organ damage. We defined severe HTN as BP elevation of systolic >180 or diastolic >110 mmHg. Treatment was defined as receiving i.v. antihypertensives within 3 h of BP elevation. We used overlap propensity score weighted Cox models to study the association between treatment and clinical outcomes during index hospitalization.

Results: Of 224 265 unique, nonintensive care unit hospitalizations, 20 383 (9%) developed severe HTN, of which 5% received i.v. antihypertensives and 79% were untreated within 3 h of severe BP elevation. In the overlap propensity weighted population, patients who received i.v. antihypertensives were more likely to develop myocardial injury (5.9% in treated versus 3.6% in untreated; hazard ratio [HR]: 1.6 [1.13, 2.24]). Treatment was not associated with increased risk of stroke (HR: 0.7 [0.3, 1.62]), acute kidney injury (HR: 0.97 [0.81, 1.17]), or death (HR: 0.86 [0.49, 1.51]).

Conclusions: Intravenous antihypertensives were associated with increased risk of myocardial injury in patients who develop severe HTN during hospitalization. These results suggest that i.v. antihypertensives should be used with caution in patients without acute target organ damage.