Assessment and Management of Hypertension in Children and Adolescents: Part B – Investigations and Management

Abstract

Once the diagnosis of hypertension has been established in a child or an adolescent, the investigations to be requested need to include a search for the primary cause when secondary hypertension is suspected, the identification of associated and co-morbid conditions and the evaluation of target-organ damage. Instituting therapy should be based on clear indications, the choice of lifestyle and/or pharmacological treatment should be guided by the pathophysiology of the underlying mechanism and based on evidence-based guidelines.

Evaluation of arterial hypertension by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in pediatric liver transplant recipients

“…Detection of nondipping hypertension among hypertensive patients has been shown to be more closely related to target organ damage [16]. It has been determined that nondipping hypertension in children is associated with obesity, solid organ transplantation, parenchymal and vascular kidney pathologies, endocrine diseases and secondary hypertension due to cardiac causes [17,18].…”