8) Difficulty to breathe
First of all, in order to relate breathing issue to high blood pressure, there should be blood pressure higher than 180/120 mmHg. In addition, doctors should observe acute pulmonary damage. They may call this condition pulmonary edema in a hypertensive emergency.
Since it is called emergency, this event happens all of a sudden, so a patient will need competent and rapid-acting medications (intravenously) to lower the elevated blood pressure safely. This can protect pulmonary function, lower symptoms, decrease complications, and result in a better clinical outcome.
Now, there is a catch. When a patient has difficulty to breathe due to a hypertensive emergency may have stenosis of the subclavian artery. This stenosis may lead to a tricky normal or low blood pressure if it is measured at the brachial artery, the ipsilateral one. That’s why many people trying to take their own blood pressure would get an incorrect reading. Thus, if you believe you’re having a hypertensive crisis, talk to your doctor right away.
