A recent study revealed that high blood pressure in childhood and adolescence might increase the long-term risk of serious heart conditions like stroke and heart attack, by four times. The study published on Friday will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2024 Meeting that is being held May 3-6 in Toronto.

High blood pressure or hypertension is known to affect one in every 15 children and adolescents worldwide and has become a growing concern. To understand the long-term effects of high BP in children, researchers compared 25,605 children and adolescents diagnosed with hypertension between 1996 and 2021 in Ontario, Canada, to children who did not have the condition.

The scientists followed the children for 13 years and found that children with high blood pressure have a two to four times higher risk of experiencing heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or cardiac surgery compared to those without it.

Cal H. Robinson, paediatric nephrology fellow at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Canada said, “Devoting more resources to paediatric blood pressure screening and control could lower the risks of long-term heart conditions in children with hypertension.”

“More awareness about the importance of regular screening and follow-up for paediatric hypertension may prevent children from developing significant adverse heart outcomes later in life.”

Here, take a look at some of the ways to treat hypertension in children.

This is one of the first things one should do to manage high BP in children. Make sure your child is eating a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Also, limit the intake of sodium as it can help manage blood pressure. On the other hand, physical activity is extremely important and children should engage in moderate to vigorous activity for at least an hour every day.

Overweight and obesity increase the risks of high blood pressure in children. Managing weight through diet, exercise and behavioural changes can help reduce or even get rid of high blood pressure.

Checking your child’s blood pressure regularly is important to check the effectiveness of any treatment plan. This can help in making any timely adjustments so that the outcomes are better.

When lifestyle changes are not enough to manage blood pressure, medication may be required. Drugs used for treating pediatric hypertension are angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), beta-blockers and diuretics. Medication is usually given when the condition becomes severe and persistent or when there’s an underlying condition that causes high blood pressure.

In some cases, high BP in children is secondary to other conditions like kidney disease or hormonal disorders. Identifying and treating the underlying cause is important for better management of high blood pressure.