S-10-1: WHAT LEVEL OF BLOOD PRESSURE IS CONCERNING IN CHILDHOOD?

Abstract

 

The 95th percentile of blood pressure among healthy children is the currently accepted level used to denote a hypertensive blood pressure reading in children and adolescents. Yet, ample data have recently emerged showing that the harmful effects of high blood pressure can be demonstrated at blood pressure levels considered normal by current guidelines. Cardiac, vascular, cognitive and kidney effects have been shown starting at the 90th percentile in cross-sectional studies, and markers of adult cardiovascular disease appear in longitudinal cohorts whose members had modestly elevated or even normal blood pressure as youth. This presentation will summarize data that support a lower threshold of concern for children and adolescents, and outline some of the remaining questions to be answered before a lower threshold blood pressure level could be adopted.