Normal blood pressures and the evaluation of sustained blood pressure elevation in childhood

A total of 3,861 school children in the age group 5-15 years were examined to establish the normative values for auscultatory blood pressure and to study the prevalence of sustained elevation of blood pressure in Indian children. Age-sex specific norms of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the right upper limb were worked out. When the influence of age was minimised, the systolic and diastolic pressure still showed a positive correlation with height and weight. Two hundred and fifty five (6.60%) of the children screened were detected to have blood pressure level in excess of +2 SD of the mean for age and sex on first contact. The number declined to only 16 (0.41%) on re-evaluation 2 months after the initial contact. These 16 children continued to remain hypertensive during monthly follow up for 5 months. Family history of obesity, hypertension, or myocardial-infarction and/or stroke was met with in significantly higher (p less than 0.001) number of children with sustained hypertension as compared to normotensive students.