Are people with severe hypertension admitted to the ICU?

Usually yes since they need very close monitoring of their pulse and blood pressure. In addition, they often initially need continuous IV medications to slowly bring their blood pressure down. The immediate danger to very high blood pressure is heart attack and the type of stroke that results in bleeding in the brain. As the blood pressure is lowered slowly, the neurological function needs to be monitored since a too rapid decrease can result in a stroke caused by lack of adequate blood pressure (the brain may become accustomed to a high blood pressure and hasn't adjusted fast enough).