Table 3: Drugs used in the treatment of hypertensive emergency [15].

DRUG DOSE
Sodium nitroprusside Infusion of 0.25 mg/kg/minute up to 10 mcg/kg/minute, or until reaching the appropriate BP figure.
Nicardipine 5 mg/hour, increase by 1-2.5 mg/hour every 15 min, maximum dose 10 mg/hour
Labetalol 1 to 2 mg/min, or 20 to 80 mg IV bolus every 5 to 10 min, increase to 300 mg of total dose
Esmolol 0.5 to 1 mg/kg loading dose over 1 minute, followed by infusion starting at 50-300 mcg/kg/min
Nitroglycerin Infusion 5 a 200 mcg/min