Primary Hypertension Beginning in Childhood and Risk for Future Cardiovascular Disease

Hypertension in adulthood continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.1 Hypertension in childhood is not uncommon, but due to the absence of data on future adverse outcomes (heart failure, stroke, kidney failure) hypertension has been defined in childhood as systolic or diastolic blood pressure (BP)>95th percentile of age, sex, and height adjusted normative BP data. The prevalence of childhood hypertension is approximately 4 percent, and the prevalence of elevated BP, a condition of higher risk for progression to hypertension, is approximately 10 percent.
Source: The Journal of Pediatrics - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Medical Progress Source Type: research