Managing Hypertension in Children

The occurrence of hypertension in children is minimal. Contrary to popular belief, high-blood pressure can affect children or infants as well as adults. There are 5% of children that have elevated blood pressure levels. The occurrence of hypertension that is unmanageable is less than 1% in children. The incidence of developing hypertension is increased with childhood obesity, or smoking, although the instance of children smoking has yet to be correlated with hypertension.

Blood pressure is defined with the values of systolic and diastolic. Systolic blood pressure is when the highest amount of pressure in the arteries as the heart pushes the blood away from it and to the other organs in the body. Diastolic pressure is measured when the heart is in between beats and it is at a much lower pressure. If blood pressure is measured and either value is found to be elevated to levels that are unhealthy for their age/sex profile than they are said to be suffering from hypertension.

When blood pressure becomes seriously elevated in children, it is thought to be a side effect of another serious issue that is occurring within their body. Often some of the serious issues that occur are kidney disease, heart abnormalities, or a disorder of the nervous or endocrine system. If a child is suffering from high blood pressure and there is no underlying disorder it can most often be decreased with dietary changes, pharmacology or a combination of them both.

If the hypertension is not managed than it could lead to serious effects, stroke or damage to the kidneys, eyes, or other organs. As previously stated, hypertension often occurs as a secondary symptom; therefore, the initial problem must be treated to affect the hypertension.

If you are concerned about high blood pressure in your child than you should be aware of the symptoms that may occur, these are fatigue, headache, dizziness, and eyestrain.