Intraoperative Arterial Hypertension in Noncardiac Surgery : Controversies and Current Recommendations

15 Abstract Arterial hypertension on the day of surgery is a frequently encountered phenomenon nowadays. In many patients, correction of the elevated blood pressure (BP) helps to avoid serious complications and improves perioperative safety. However, there is no general agreement on whether all patients presenting with high BP will benefit from an antihypertensive therapy prior to the start of anesthesia and throughout surgery. In addition, there is no consensus on what should be considered a baseline “normal” value for BP in patients undergoing surgery. This report focuses on controversies in management of intraoperative hypertension and emphasizes the importance of preventing labile BP changes rather than attempting to keep BP within a predetermined target range.