Most people associate high-blood pressure with adults; however, it is fast becoming a rising concern in the future health of our children. Some very young babies have high blood pressure.
High blood pressure occurs when the arteries narrow, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. It is classified in one of two ways: primary or secondary. Primary high blood pressure is without a specific cause, and “secondary” refers to a particular illness or obvious behavior being the culprit.
For unknown reasons, there are some children with high blood pressure. These children have “primary” or “essential” hypertension. However, most times modification of risk factors will lessen the severity.
With secondary hypertension, when the contributing disease or illness is treated properly, the blood pressure usually returns to normal.
Normal blood pressure in children varies according to age, gender and height because their blood pressure rises with age. These factors calculate a baseline for systolic and diastolic percentages related to a particular age group.
Risks factors for primary or essential hypertension:
• Overweight children usually have hypertension. A child with a healthy diet and who gets plenty of exercise is less likely to develop high blood pressure. Candy, salty chips, sodas, and hours in front of the television or a game console are dangerous to a child’s health.
• Smoking and drinking. Granted, this is not a concern among infants, toddlers and younger children, but it is very common among adolescents. Second-hand smoke is a concern at any age.
• Muscle-building steroids and street drugs. Competition runs high among high-school athletes and young men, posing a problem with illegal use of steroids and other street drugs. These are all hypertension-causing drugs.
• High cholesterol: this can be genetic; however, it can also be from a poor diet, lack of exercise, and excessive weight.
Contributing risk factors in Secondary hypertension:
• Genetics. Children can inherit high-blood pressure from a parent; however, most usually it is from other conditions such as premature birth, kidney disease, or heart conditions. In addition, high blood pressure is more frequent and severe among African-Americans than Caucasians.
• Illnesses such as kidney or congenital heart defects.
• Head injury.
The only way to know if your child has high blood pressure is to have it checked. Pediatricians usually wait until the child is around 3-years-old to do this. If there is a family history of high blood pressure, or if your child is obese, insist on having it checked at every routine visit.