<p>Whether or not classical solutions to the hyperbolic Navier-Stokes equations (NSE) can develop finite-time singularities remains a challenging open problem. For general data without smallness condition, even the <i>L</i>²-norm of solutions is not known to be globally bounded in time. This paper presents a systematic approach to the global existence and stability problem by examining the difference between a general hyperbolic NSE and its corresponding Navier-Stokes counterpart. We make use of the integral representations. The functional setting is taken to be critical Sobolev spaces for the NSE. As a special consequence, any <i>d</i>-dimensional (<i>d</i> ≥ 2) hyperbolic NSE with general fractional dissipation is shown to possess a unique global solution if the coefficient of the double-time derivative and the initial data obey a suitable constraint.</p>