Hypertension Nursing Diagnosis & Care Plan

Hypertension is a common yet serious condition that increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, requiring careful nursing management. This article outlines essential hypertension nursing care plans, including key interventions and patient education strategies to help control blood pressure and prevent complications.

---

What is Hypertension?

Hypertension is the term used for high blood pressure, specifically when your blood pressure is 140/90 mmHg or higher. 

Risk factors for high blood pressure include, 

• Obesity
• Stress
• Older age
• Genetics
• Ethnicity
• Kidney disease
• Thyroid disorders
• Lack of physical activity
• High-salt diet
• Smoking
• Unhealthy diet (“Hypertension”)

Blood Pressure Classifications for Adults 

Source: American Heart Association⁶

How to Develop a Hypertension Nursing Care Plan

The first thing to consider when developing a nursing care plan for hypertension is to determine a patient’s goals. 

While parts of the nursing care plan are things you come up with, the nursing diagnosis must be on the NANDA-I approved nursing diagnosis list. 

According to the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA),  a nursing diagnosis is “a clinical judgment about the human response to health conditions/life processes, or a vulnerability for that response, by an individual, family, group or community.”

A nursing diagnosis is based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs pyramid and helps prioritize treatments. Based on the nursing diagnosis chosen, the goals to resolve the patient’s problems through nursing implementations are determined in the next step.

NANDA-I separates nursing diagnoses into four categories, 

• Problem-focused - Patient problem present during a nursing assessment is known as a problem-focused diagnosis
  
  
• Risk - Risk factors require intervention from the nurse and healthcare team before a real problem developing
  
  
• Health promotion - Improve the overall well-being of an individual, family, or community
  
  
• Syndrome - A cluster of nursing diagnoses that occur in a pattern or can all be addressed through the same or similar nursing interventions

After determining the most important goals for the patient and the corresponding nursing diagnosis, determine how to best support the patient and achieve the goals. 

---

Hypertension Nursing Care Plan Components

A nursing care plan has several key components, including, 

• Nursing diagnosis
• Expected outcome
• Nursing interventions and rationales
• Evaluation

Each of the five main components is essential to the overall nursing process and care plan. A properly written care plan must include these sections; otherwise, it won’t make sense!

• Nursing diagnosis - A clinical judgment that helps nurses determine the plan of care for their patients
• Expected outcome - The measurable action for a patient to be achieved in a specific time frame. 
• Nursing interventions and rationales - Actions to be taken to achieve expected outcomes and reasoning behind them.
• Evaluation - Determines the effectiveness of the nursing interventions and determines if expected outcomes are met within the time set.

---

Hypertension Care Plan Examples

All nursing diagnoses must be NANDA-I approved and have corresponding definitions to help guide nurses in writing a nursing care plan.¹

Final Thoughts

Developing a nursing care plan can help nurses, patients, and other healthcare professionals perform high-quality care and improve patient outcomes. Care plans improve overall organization and individualize patient care even as handling a relatively common disease process. 

---

Sources

Nursing Care Plan