Blood pressure variability, prehypertension, and hypertension in adolescents

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Donald Lee Batisky, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2012
• Publisher: Dove Medical Press
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2012 Ba© 2012 Batisky, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://www.dovepress.com/blood-pressure-variability-prehypertension-and-hypertension-in-adolesc-peer-reviewed-article-AHMT
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics
• ISSN: 1179-318X
• Volume: 3
• Start Page: 43
• End Page: 50
• Grant/Funding Information: Dr Batisky has funding support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) [1 R01 HL098332-01A1, M Lande PI] to study the neurocognitive effects of HTN in children and adolescents.
• Keywords: body mass index; obesity; overweigh; pre-HTN; HTN; BMI
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Health Sciences, Human Development

Abstract

Medical conditions diagnosed during adolescence may have long term impacts on the health of an individual. As a result, identifying cardiovascular risk factors earlier in life such as prehypertension (pre-HTN) and hypertension (HTN) can have significant benefits across an individual’s lifespan. Diagnosing elevated blood pressure (BP) during adolescence can be difficult, partially due to the natural variability that occurs during this period of life. Levels of BP that define adolescent prehypertension/hypertension are provided as well as an abridged review of BP variability across research groups. Strategies for BP management of adolescents are considered, with the primary focus on nonpharmacologic interventions.