Spontaneous Changes in Very High Blood Pressure after Admission to the Hospital and Their Relation to Target Organ Involvement

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Abstract
Spontaneous changes in blood pressure (BP) over a week after admission to the hospital were investigated in 127 patients admitted with diastolic BP at or > 120 mm Hg. Average BP decreased from 205/129 at admission to 174/110 on the 8th day. Regression analysis showed highly significant negative slopes which were related to initial levels, but not to the presence or type of target organ involvement. After 1 wk, 66% of the subjects attained a diastolic BP < 120 mm Hg. More remarkably, 36% attained values < 105 mm Hg; 33% of these had BP values < 95 mm Hg. Apparently, initial high blood pressure readings do not necessarily represent any pattern of either fixed or severe hypertension, nor do they imply a need for urgent antihypertensive treatment.