Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Paroxysmal hypertension
Introduction
Classification
Classification
Patients with paroxysmal hypertension who test negative for phaeochromocytoma are said to be suffering from pseudopheochromocytoma,[1] a disorder with no known cause.
Causes
Causes
Common Causes
Causes by Organ System
| Cardiovascular | Baroreflex failure, Factitious hypertension |
| Chemical / poisoning | No underlying causes |
| Dermatologic | No underlying causes |
| Drug Side Effect | Amphetamine, Cocaine, Lysergic acid diethylamide, Tyrosine ingestion combined with monoamine oxidase inhibitors |
| Ear Nose Throat | No underlying causes |
| Endocrine | Hyperthyroidism, Pheochromocytoma |
| Environmental | No underlying causes |
| Gastroenterologic | Carcinoid |
| Genetic | No underlying causes |
| Hematologic | Mastocytosis |
| Iatrogenic | No underlying causes |
| Infectious Disease | No underlying causes |
| Musculoskeletal / Ortho | No underlying causes |
| Neurologic | Brain tumor, Cluster headache, Intracranial hemorrhage, Lateral medulla compression, Migraine headache, Seizures, Stroke , Traumatic brain injury |
| Nutritional / Metabolic | Tyrosine ingestion combined with monoamine oxidase inhibitors |
| Obstetric/Gynecologic | No underlying causes |
| Oncologic | Carcinoid, Pheochromocytoma, Brain tumor |
| Opthalmologic | No underlying causes |
| Overdose / Toxicity | Amphetamine, Cocaine, Lysergic acid diethylamide, Tyrosine ingestion combined with monoamine oxidase inhibitors |
| Psychiatric | Anxiety, Factitious hypertension |
| Pulmonary | No underlying causes |
| Renal / Electrolyte | Renovascular hypertension |
| Rheum / Immune / Allergy | No underlying causes |
| Sexual | No underlying causes |
| Trauma | Traumatic brain injury |
| Urologic | No underlying causes |
| Dental | No underlying causes |
| Miscellaneous | Pseudopheochromocytoma, Factitious hypertension |
Causes in Alphabetical Order
- Amphetamine
- Anxiety
- Baroreflex failure
- Brain tumor
- Carcinoid
- Cluster headache
- Cocaine
- Factitious hypertension
- Hyperthyroidism
- Intracranial hemorrhage
- Lateral medulla compression
- Lysergic acid diethylamide
- Mastocytosis
- Migraine headache
- Pheochromocytoma
- Pseudopheochromocytoma[2]
- Renovascular hypertension
- Traumatic brain injury
- Tyrosine ingestion combined with monoamine oxidase inhibitors
- Seizures
- Stroke
Natural History, Complications and Prognosis
Natural History, Complications and Prognosis
- Some cases can result in hypertensive encephalopathy
References
References
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]