A 64 year old woman developed bilateral visual loss and headache. She had a history of hypertension but had not taken her medicines for three months. Her blood pressure was 201/134.

Axial Flair Images: Note the multifocal high signal areas in several areas of the brain, especially in the posterior occipital regions. Hypertensive encephalopathy may occur from untreated primary hypertension, but is also associated with lupus, eclampsia and other conditions. Its common association with edema in the posterior areas of the brain often results in associated cortical visual symptoms.

Revised 04/24/06.
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