Elevated blood pressure is “the most common abnormality physicians encounter in the emergency department, but there is very little guidance for how to deal with it,” said Philip H. Shayne, MD, FACEP, professor of emergency medicine and EM residency program director at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. And much of the time, it’s not really a problem at all.

In his Thursday session, “Severe, Asymptomatic Hypertension in the ED: Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!” Dr. Shayne will offer practical strategies for treating patients presenting with elevated blood pressure and provide tips for dealing with misconceptions. He’ll take advantage of the latest literature and national guidelines to do so.

“It has to do with assessing what’s going on with the patient and not being worried about the number on the monitor,” said Dr. Shayne. “There is a lot of outside pressure; people are sent to us because their blood pressure is high. We are often responding to what other people think is a crisis.”

It means emergency physicians are being asked to solve problems that may not be acute issues at all, he said. His session will help emergency physicians handle patients with high blood pressure and defend rational decisions that may go against these outside expectations but, at the same time, result in the best care for patients.

Kelly Tyrrell is a health, science, and health policy writer based in Madison, Wisconsin.

Dr. Shayne

Severe, Asymptomatic Hypertension in the ED: Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!

Thursday, Oct. 29
8–8:25 a.m.
Room 258 ABC