Hypertension crisis is defined by blood pressure exceeding which thresholds?

• A. >180/>120
• B. >200/>130
• C. >160/>100
• D. >140/>90

Answer: (A)

Hypertensive crisis is defined by a dangerously high blood pressure where the risk of acute target-organ injury rises sharply. The critical threshold is 180 systolic or 120 diastolic (often stated as >180/120). When BP reaches or exceeds this level, it prompts urgent evaluation for end-organ damage.

This threshold matters because it separates ordinary severe hypertension from a crisis that carries immediate risk to organs like the brain, heart, kidneys, and lungs. If there is end-organ damage, it’s a hypertensive emergency requiring rapid IV blood-pressure reduction in a hospital setting. If no end-organ damage is present, it’s a hypertensive urgency, managed with careful, typically slower, adjustments.

The other values are not the defining cutoff for a hypertensive crisis; they describe lower levels of hypertension that may be significant and require treatment, but they do not meet the crisis threshold.