Task Force Offers Practical Strategies for Diagnosing and Managing Hypertension in Children and Adolescents
Comprehensive guidelines for the treatment and management of hypertension in children and adolescents are being published for the first time in the latest issue of the Journal of Hypertension.
Prepared by a Task Force established by the European Society of Hypertension, the guidelines will prove to be an invaluable source of information for physicians, nurses and families dealing with hypertension in young people.
The necessity for the guidelines has become increasingly clear to physicians in light of growing evidence that cases of mild hypertension in children and adolescents are much more common than previously thought. In addition, progress made in pathophysiological and clinical research has made clear links between paediatric hypertension and cardiovascular disease later in life, highlighting the need for improved cardiovascular prevention strategies for pre-adult individuals.
The Task Force, set up by the European Society of Hypertension and headed by Dr Empar Lurbe of the University of Valencia, has combined considerable amounts of scientific data with clinical experience in order to represent a consensus among specialists involved in the detection and control of high blood pressure (BP) in children and adolescents. It is hoped that the publication of these guidelines will call attention to the burden of hypertension in children and adolescents, and encourage public policy makers to develop a global effort to improve identification and treatment of high BP among young people. Primarily, however, these guidelines provide practical strategies for diagnosing and treating hypertension in children and adolescents. They include: