Anxiety
Most patients with hypertension in the emergency room would have different degrees of anxiety as well. Patients with a hypertensive crisis would often have a severe headache with shortness of breath. They may have chest pain and other symptoms as well, and they all contribute to the feeling of anxiety. Patients with severe anxiety would also feel palpitations, which aggravates their condition and makes them even more nervous. Stress and fear are both a cause and a consequence of hypertension, and in many cases, controlling the headache would be enough to calm down patients and allow their blood pressure readings to go back to normal.