Table II.

Similarities and Differences in Neurological Hypertensive Emergencies

	Acute Cerebral Infarction	Subarachnoid Hemorrhage	Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage	Hypertensive Encephalopathy
History
Duration of symptoms	Acute	Acute	Acute	Subacute
Headache	Variable	Severe	Variable	Severe
History of hypertension	Common, but variable	Common, but variable	Common, but variable	Nearly universal
Physical examination
Retinopathy	Variable: 0–IV	Variable: 0–IV	Variable: 0–IV	Variable: II–IV (usually III or IV)
Focal neurologic deficits	Characteristic of location of infarction	Variable	Characteristic of location of hemorrhage	Unusual; varies with BP level
Laboratory findings
Lumbar puncture	Usually normal, except opening pressure	Xanthochromic or frankly bloody	Xanthochromic or frankly bloody	Usually normal, except opening pressure
CAT scan	Can show area of infarct	Usually normal	Often shows area of hemorrhage	Usually normal
BP=blood pressure; CAT=computed axial tomography. Adapted with permission from Curr Hypertens Rep. 2003;5:486–492.