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High blood pressure in the young: why should we care?
Author(s) -
Flynn Joseph T.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.14110
Subject(s) - medicine , ambivalence , blood pressure , economic shortage , primary care , disease , pediatrics , intensive care medicine , family medicine , social psychology , psychology , linguistics , philosophy , government (linguistics)
While primary hypertension (HTN) clearly occurs in children and adolescents, the approach of many providers to such patients can best be described as ambivalent: the condition may be recognised, but is not acted upon. Such ambivalence may stem from incomplete understanding of the effects of high blood pressure in the young, which in turn is related to the shortage of information on long‐term outcomes of primary childhood HTN. However, other evidence on the short‐ and long‐term effects of blood pressure elevation in childhood clearly shows that it is not a benign condition at all. Conclusion Childhood HTN warrants action to prevent adult cardiovascular disease.