High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a lifelong disease. The damage it causes occurs over a period of many years. It is possible, however, for blood pressure to rise quickly and steeply enough to be considered a medical emergency requiring immediate hospitalization.

So how high is too high? Exceedingly high pressure is considering anything above 180/110 mm Hg. At this point, it is called a hypertensive crisis. Any individual experiencing such a spike should not wait to see if the pressure comes down on its own. Emergency medical services (EMS) should be contacted immediately by dialing 911.

Also known as malignant hypertension, critically elevated blood pressure can cause many different signs and symptoms for the individual experiencing it. For example, extremely high pressure can cause severe headache and anxiety, as well as shortness of breath. Additionally, a hypertensive crisis can result in loss of consciousness and memory, heart attack, eye, and blood vessel damage, kidney failure, chest pain (angina), a tear in your heart's main artery (known as aortic dissection) and fluid in the lungs.

Extreme blood pressure can cause inflammation of blood vessels, which can lead to leaking of blood. This, in turn, makes maintaining adequate blood circulation difficult, which can result in organ damage and even failure.

A jump in blood pressure to any reading above 180/110 mmHg should be considered a medical emergency and treated as such. Any person experiencing a hypertensive crisis should not attempt to "wait it out." Rather, EMS should be contacted as soon as possible so that the patient can be hospitalized and treated as quickly as possible.