Paroxysmal hypertension
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Paroxysmal hypertension is episodic high blood pressure.
Classification
Patients with paroxysmal hypertension who test negative for phaeochromocytoma are said to be suffering from pseudophaechromocytoma,[1] a disorder with no known cause.
Causes
- Anxiety
- Cluster headache
- Hyperthyroidism
- Mastocytosis
- Migraine headache
- Pheochromocytoma
- Renovascular hypertension
- Seizures
Natural History, Complications and Prognosis
- Some cases can result in hypertensive encephalopathy
• Central nervous system lesions, such as stroke, tumor, hemorrhage, compression of lateral medulla, and trauma (See "Clinical diagnosis of stroke subtypes"). • Seizure disorder • Carcinoid (See "The carcinoid syndrome"). • Drugs (cocaine, lysergic acid diethylamide, amphetamine) • Tyrosine ingestion combined with monoamine oxidase inhibitors • Baroreflex failure • Factitious hypertension.
References
- ↑ Kuchel, O. Pseudopheochromocytoma. Hypertension 1985; 7:151