Management of hypertension in children and adolescents

Abstract

Hypertension has been recognized as an important health issue in the pediatric population over the past years. This emphasizes the need for an organized and effective plan for diagnosis and management. This review provides information to guide physicians through a structured approach to (1) screen children for hypertension during routine visits; (2) use normative blood pressure tables for diagnosis and classification; (3) perform a clinical evaluation to identify the presence of risk factors, comorbidities and/or target organ damage; and (4) initiate an individualized plan of care that includes follow-up blood pressure measurement, therapeutic lifestyle changes and - if necessary - pharmacological therapies.

Keywords:

• Hypertension
• Children
• Adolescents
• Blood pressure
• Treatment

Acknowledgements

Johan Vande Walle is currently primary investigator in the Novartis CVAL489K2306 trial. Pauline De Bruyne has received an independent grant for Strategic Basic Research of the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT).