Psychosis in the course of hypertensive crisis — case report

Arterial hypertension (AH) is one of the civilization diseases of present times. It is also one of the modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease and the leading cause of premature death in the world. Hypertensive crisis, which we define as a sudden increase in blood pressure to values above 180 mmHg SBP and/or above 110–130 mmHg DBP, can be clinically categorized as hypertensive urgency or hypertensive emergency (immediately life-threatening condition). One of signs of target organ damage seen in hypertensive emergency is hypertensive encephalopathy, which may manifest as a change in mental status. Most often in the form of consciousness disorders. Nevertheless, in rare cases psychotic symptoms characteristic for paranoid syndrome with features of paralogical thinking disorders may appear. The purpose of this study was to present an atypical manifestation of hypertensive encephalopathy, with the clinical picture determined mainly by paranoid symptoms.