Characterisation of patients with hypertensive crisis admitted to an emergency hospital

Theoretical framework: Hypertensive crisis is the acute stage of hypertension. It is considered a chronic condition that affects people worldwide. Objectives: To characterise the profile of patients with hypertensive crisis admitted to an emergency hospital. Methodology: Quantitative, descriptive study with secondary data collection in the paper charts and electronic records of patients admitted with hypertensive crisis between January and May 2013. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, and a 5% level of significance was adopted (p<0.05). Results: The association between the stage of hypertension and age group shows that the most individuals aged less than 40 years (44.6%) had stage 1 hypertension, those aged between 40 and 59 years had stage 2 hypertension (34.6%), and those aged less than 60 years had stage 3 hypertension (48.0%). Conclusion: The results of this study point to the need to create new strategies for improving adherence to hypertension treatment and user empowerment.