Usual Intravenous Doses of Antihypertensive Agents Used in Hypertensive Emergenciesa | |
| ANTIHYPERTENSIVE AGENT | IV DOSE |
|---|---|
| Nitroprusside | Initial 0.3 (mcg/kg)/min; usual 2-4 (mcg/kg)/min; maximum 10 (mcg/kg)/min for 10 min |
| Nicardipine | Initial 5 mg/h; titrate by 2.5 mg/h at 5-15 min intervals; max 15 mg/h |
| Labetalol | 2 mg/min up to 300 mg or 20 mg over 2 min, then 40-80 mg at 10-min intervals up to 300 mg total |
| Enalaprilat | Usual 0.625-1.25 mg over 5 min every 6-8 h; maximum 5 mg/dose |
| Esmolol | Initial 80-500 mcg/kg over 1 min, then 50-300 (mcg/kg)/min |
| Phentolamine | 5-15 mg bolus |
| Nitroglycerin | Initial 5 mcg/min, then titrate by 5 mcg/min at 3-5 min intervals; if no response is seen at 20 mcg/min, incremental increases of 10-20 mcg/min may be used |
| Hydralazine | 10-50 mg at 30-min intervals |