Related Experiment Videos
Pediatric hypertension: recent literature
Umbereen S Nehal1, Julie R Ingelfinger
1Division of Pediatric Nephrology, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Insights
This review covers recent advances in pediatric hypertension, focusing on blood pressure measurement, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), and antihypertensive medications for children and adolescents.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Nephrology
- Clinical Pediatrics
Background:
- Pediatric hypertension diagnosis and management have evolved with new monitoring techniques.
- Established norms for blood pressure in children exist for seated, in-office measurements.
- Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is increasingly used, though population-based norms are less established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent literature on pediatric hypertension.
- To discuss advancements in blood pressure measurement and monitoring, including ABPM.
- To evaluate current antihypertensive medications and therapies for pediatric hypertension.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent publications on pediatric hypertension.
- Analysis of studies focusing on blood pressure measurement techniques.
- Evaluation of research on antihypertensive drug efficacy and safety in children.
Main Results:
- Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) offers significant utility in assessing and monitoring pediatric hypertension.
- Recent developments provide new insights into the diagnosis, course, and treatment of hypertension in children and adolescents.
- The review synthesizes current knowledge on antihypertensive therapies and their application in pediatric populations.
Conclusions:
- Accurate blood pressure measurement and appropriate monitoring are crucial in pediatric hypertension management.
- Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is a valuable tool, despite limitations in large-scale normative data.
- Continued research into pediatric antihypertensive therapies is essential for optimizing patient outcomes.
Abstract:
This article reviews selected recent literature specifically concerning pediatric hypertension, much of which has focused on measurement and monitoring of blood pressure, as well as on evaluating antihypertensive medications. Normative data for blood pressure in children have been widely available for some time, based upon seated in-office measurements. In recent years, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), facilitated by user-friendly instrumentation, has become more commonplace, though norms are not based on large populations. However, ABPM has important uses in assessing blood pressure as well as in monitoring antihypertensive. This review discusses issues involved in determining blood pressure, as well as the utility of ABPM in several situations. Recent developments concerning pediatric antihypertensive therapy are considered, as well as new information relevant to the diagnosis, course and treatment of hypertension in children and adolescents.