Childhood high blood pressure is more common than you may think, and new research shows that this may lead to high blood pressure in adulthood.
This new research has shown that primary hypertension (not caused by an underlying medical condition) is now the most common type of high blood pressure in children, especially in adolescents.
The new scientific statement reviews current evidence of what leads to high blood pressure in children and adolescents, and highlights clinical and public health implications for health care professionals, researchers and the public.
Bonita Falkner, M.D., FAHA, chair of the scientific statement writing committee, says: “Primary hypertension onset in childhood is not a benign condition.
“This is a health problem that is often amplified by lifestyle and behaviours, many of which are modifiable. Since kids with high blood pressure levels tend to maintain high blood pressure into adulthood, diagnosing and appropriately addressing high blood pressure in youth is imperative to ensure improved lifetime health as early as possible.”
Blood pressure is recorded using two numbers: the systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) indicates the pressure blood is exerting against the artery walls when the heart beats; and the diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number in a blood pressure reading) indicates the pressure blood is exerting against the artery walls while the heart is resting between beats.
High blood pressure occurs when the force of blood flowing through the blood vessels is consistently too high. Damage from high blood pressure may lead to heart disease potentially leading to stroke.
Some factors that may contribute to high blood pressure in children are not modifiable, such as genetics, low birth weight and even environmental exposures. One large study in China evaluated children ages 7 through 18 and found an association between air pollution form industrial and vehicle emissions and other pollutants and an increased risk of abnormal blood pressure.
There are some significant risk factors for high blood pressure that may be modified to improve blood pressure levels, including obesity, physical and a key factor – nutrition.
A recent meta-analysis of 18 studies with high-quality data on sodium intake and blood pressure discovered that systolic blood pressure readings increased by 0.8 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure levels increased by 0.7 mm Hg for every additional one gram of daily sodium intake.
Falkner, says: “A healthy lifestyle in childhood may be extremely helpful in mitigating the risk of developing hypertension in youth.
“Preventive measures for families that promote healthy lifestyles in children are important, such as eating healthy food, encouraging physical activity that leads to improved physical fitness and healthy sleep, and avoiding the development of obesity. Regular blood pressure monitoring by a health care clinician is also essential so that if high blood pressure is present, it can be quickly detected and addressed.”
Falkner also notes that it is important to gain a further understanding of high blood pressure in children “Future studies to improve both the recognition and diagnosis of high blood pressure in this age group, as well as clinical trials to evaluate medical treatment and recommend public health initiatives, are all vital to improving the increase we are seeing in hypertension in children.“
