"The long-term health risks for hypertensive children and adolescents can be substantial. If left untreated, they pose a growing public health challenge," said Bonita Falkner, M.D., professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, who chaired the national committee to develop the guidelines. "We want to update clinicians on the latest scientific evidence."

The guidelines are the results of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group and update previous guidelines from 1996. The complete report is scheduled to be published in the July issue of Pediatrics.

In children and adolescents, the normal range of blood pressure is traditionally determined by body size and age. The guidelines offer blood pressure standards that are based on gender, age and height, which, Dr. Falkner says, provide a more precise classification according to body size and avoid misclassifying children who are very tall or very short.

The guidelines also encourage pediatricians to recommend diet, exercise and weight control counseling for children who fit into a new category known as prehypertension. "The definition of hypertension remains the same," Dr. Falkner says. "Prehypertension refers to an average systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure that is greater than or equal to the 90th percentile, but less than the 95th percentile in children. By adolescence, a blood pressure reading of greater than 120/80 is considered to be prehypertension.

"We know that elevated blood pressure levels in children and adolescents can be associated with obesity and risk factors for diab
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Contact: Nan Myers
nan.myers@jefferson.edu
215-955-6300
Thomas Jefferson University
18-May-2004