Hypertension in adolescents
- Maryam Babar
- Jul 2, 2022
- 3 min read
Abstract:
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is when blood force is too high against blood vessel walls. Hypertension has long been perceived in older adults. If hypertension is diagnosed in adolescents, it’s complicated because most older people get it because they suffer from tension and kidney and heart problems. Relatively children suffer less from diseases like these.
Due to pediatric obesity, the percentage of hypertension is increasing in adolescents. Hypertension should be treated timely in adolescents to avoid cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
Aim and intended learning outcomes:
In this article, you’ll get to know all the specs about hypertension in adolescents. Our primary focus will be on b discussing the solution to this.
We’ll discuss the signs and symptoms of hypertension
Diagnosis of hypertension
We’ll focus on treatments and precautions to avoid future mishaps
Signs and symptoms:
High blood pressure does not have any physical symptoms. That’s why it’s narrated as a “silent killer.” That’s why keeping your blood pressure level in check is very important.
In rare cases, if you have extreme hypertension, you feel dizziness, blurry vision, headache, nosebleeds, nausea, and a racing heartbeat.
The disease will show up in adolescents when it’s extreme, and symptoms like these will show.
Causes:
Hypertension is prevailing in adolescents due to pediatric obesity mainly. Obesity causes high blood pressure and other diseases in children, so keep checking your children and their health.
Other risk factors that cause hypertension in adolescents are abnormal glucose tolerance and dyslipidemia.
Diagnose and treatment:
You might consider that single reading as a conclusion if you have hypertension or not. But let me burst the bubble here, especially in adolescents. Sometimes the blood pressure should be checked after days or hours properly to check if you have hypertension or not. If the result is constant, then consult your doctor. The doctor will do your detailed checkup in which he’ll check your weight, and might take your urine or blood test to check the root cause of hypertension. Some people suffer from "white coat hypertension" at doctor’s clinics because they are anxious. Doctors will track that person’s blood pressure the whole day to ensure that they do not have anxiety. The process is called ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, which is very helpful to diagnose hypertension in adolescents.
If you have mild symptoms of hypertension, doctors recommend you adopt a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy is the key to recovery. Increase the intake of vegetables, fruits, and low-fat dairy. Exercise regularly. If you have mild hypertension, adolescents with high blood pressure should skip this part and any kind of weight lifting until your doctor permits you.
If these practices don’t work for you, consult your doctor, he will prescribe a good for you.
To normalize your blood pressure, you should reduce your salt intake and try to avoid caffeine. Avoid alcohol and energy drinks. Quit smoking if you do.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of adolescents is prevailing because of pediatric obesity. Other causes are dyslipidemia and abnormal glucose tolerance which mostly cause obesity-associated hypertension in adolescents. Hypertension is the root cause of other deadly diseases; it's normal in older adults. It can be adequately treated in adolescents if diagnosed on time.
References:
Urbina EM, Mendizábal B, Becker RC, et al. Association of blood pressure level with left ventricular mass in adolescents. Hypertension. 2019;74(3):590-596.
Whelton SP, McEvoy JW, Shaw L, et al. Association of normal systolic blood pressure level with cardiovascular disease without risk factors. JAMA Cardiol. 2020;5(9):1011-1018.
Hao G, Wang X, Treiber FA, Harshfield G, Kapuku G, Su S. Blood pressure trajectories from childhood to young adulthood associated with cardiovascular risk: results from the 23-year longitudinal Georgia Stress and Heart Study. Hypertension. 2017;69(3):435-442.
Urbina EM, Khoury PR, Bazzano L, et al. Relation of blood pressure in childhood to self-reported hypertension in adulthood. Hypertension. 2019;73(6):1224-1230.
Flynn JT, Kaelber DC, Baker-Smith CM, Blowey D, Carroll AE, Daniels SR, de Ferranti SD, Dionne JM, Falkner B, Flinn SK, et al.; SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCREENING AND MANAGEMENT OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IN CHILDREN. Clinical practice guidelines for screening and management of high blood pressure in children and adolescents.Pediatrics. 2017; 140:e20171904. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2017
Lee J, McCulloch CE, Flynn JT, Samuels J, Warady BA, Furth SL, Seth D, Grimes BA, Mitsnefes MM, Ku E. Prognostic value of ambulatory blood pressure load in pediatric CKD.Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2020; 15:493–500.



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