Admitted in ICU?

Question

My friend is admitted in ICU because of severe hypertension. This is the first time this person has been diagnosed with hypertension. How severe can it be???

Please note i can't contact this person because of some social obstacles. Just worried and thinking what could be happening?? Please only serious answers.

Answer 1

alot of times-people with severe hypertension are admitted to the icu so they can be more closely watched and given constant medication through an i.v-only the intensive care unit can administer constant blood pressure medication through an i.v b/c the nurse has to be watching the patient on a constant basis.

nurses in the icu can only have two patients at a time whereas nurses on other floors of the hospital can take up to 6 patients at a time-this is more beneficial for your friend to be in icu so he can be watched alot closer.

the doctors will run several tests to determine what is causing the hypertension-alot of heart tests in particular. things like an ekg (which records the electrical waves of the heart to determine if there is something wrong with them), a cardiac echo (which is an ultrasound that takes pictures of the inside of the heart-the chambers and the valves to see if there are problems residing there), and also blood tests.

i'm sorry you are not able to contact your friend but icu nurses are some of the most dedicated and experienced nurses in the medical field b/c most of their patients are severly injured or sick and it requires alot of skill to take care of them. i know b/c i am one. i wish your friend the best of luck and a speedy recovery...

Answer 2

Most people with hypertension feel okay
Hypertension usually does not produce any symptoms, because the organs of the body can resist high blood pressure for a long time. That’s why it’s important to have regular medical examinations to make sure your blood pressure isn’t creeping up as you grow older. High blood pressure over a period of time can contribute to many illnesses, including:
Heart attack
Heart failure
Kidney disease
Stroke.
An unhealthy lifestyle can cause hypertension
Some of the factors which can contribute to high blood pressure include:
Hereditary factors
Obesity
Lack of exercise
A diet high in salt
Heavy drinking
Kidney disease.
The effects of high blood pressure on the arteries are worsened by:
Cigarette smoking
High levels of saturated fat in the diet
High blood cholesterol
Diabetes.
Responses to some types of stress may affect both blood pressure and changes in the arteries, but this remains scientifically uncertain.

Some drugs may cause hypertension
Certain drugs can cause hypertension or make controlling hypertension more difficult. Check with your doctor or chemist for alternatives. These drugs include:
The combined contraceptive pill
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories
Some nasal drops and sprays
Some cough medicines, eye drops and appetite suppressants.

Answer 3

Your friend is probably on IV blood pressure medications now while they try to reduce what they call malignant hypertension.
They most likely have him "wired for sound" and are watching his heart on a monitor.
Usually they start checking for a cause of hypertension by doing blood test to check his kidney functioning and maybe even look at his renal arteries by CT scan or ultrasound. They may do a drug test to look for drugs in his system. There are a whole host of reasons for your friend to be hypertensive. They will encourage him to lose weight and maybe put him on a low salt diet.
A lot depends on what they find when they start testing.
RN x 12 yrs.

Answer 4

I have a few patients with malignant hypertension. 210/112 is a typical reading. This is severe. This is life threatening. Your friend's nurse will be monitoring him/her closely -- his/her condition, B/P, cardiac status, urine output and his/her response to medication. The nurse has two patients and your friend is one of them. There are no nurse assistants -- this is total nursing care. Your friend's doctor will see him/her once a day if he/she's stablized. More often if he/she's not. The idea is to control and lower the B/P. It may take a combination of meds and some dosage adjustments to achieve this. If your friend has any coexisting conditions, these will be treated as well. Right now, your friend has a B/P cuff on his/her arm 24 hours, a Foley catheter and is on a cardiac monitor. Your friend can be seen through a glass wall from the nurses station at all times. Your friend is getting the best of care. You may not be able to see your friend right now, but you can send a card.

Answer 5

Hypertension is like heart disease, in that the first sign can be death. That's pretty severe, and it Can cause heart disease, because the higher disease causes the chambers to enlarge as the muscle fatigues against the hydraulic--or hydrostatic--force. It can also cause aortic dissections--what killed John Ritter--and stretch the blood vessels into aneurysms.

Learn more at the American Society of Hypertension; About Hypertension; Wikipedia

Answer 6

Very severe high blood pressure may cause:

Headaches, especially pulsating headaches behind the eyes that occur early in the morning. Visual problems. Nausea and vomiting. If untreated high blood pressure can damage organs, such as the heart, kidneys, or eyes. This may lead to:

Chest pain , heart attack, or heart failure. Stroke. Kidney failure.
arterial disease. Damage to their eyes. Abnormal heartbeat.

Answer 7

They have your friend there to monitor her heart. Severe hypertension can cause a heart attack. She has to be on heart monitors and have one on one nursing care for now. God bless you and your friend.

Answer 8

whilst praying for healing it helps to appreciate specifics: Dad's call? (first ok), What brought about the extreme blood tension? If he desires to easily decrease back on his salt intake i might pray diverse than if he has obstructions in his arteries. A everyday prayer of, "Jesus, please heal so-and-so," is powerless and not Scriptural. Jesus' reaction to that prayer is, "I already took stripes for that, and that's sufficient." because of the fact he paid the cost, it rather is as much as us to faucet into that capacity he offered by potential of praying properly and speaking to the region as though he have been right here doing it (which the Holy Spirit is thru us).

Answer 9

if the hyperstension is bad enough it can lead to stroke or heart failure...it is very treatable, however, and once they get it under control, he should be fine as long as he follows the drs orders

Answer 10

HTN can be pretty severe....it can cause stroke, heart problems, respiratory problems.......many factors involve HTN, such as stress, med background, diet etc