Cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents

Heart disease is not a leading cause of death for children and teens, but it is the leading cause of death for adults in the United States. What’s more, every 37 seconds someone in the United States dies of some form of cardiovascular disease.

Certain factors have been found to play a role in your chances of getting heart disease. These are called risk factors. Some risk factors can be altered, treated or modified and others cannot.

Most risk factors that affect children can be controlled in childhood, which reduces cardiovascular risk later. Other risk factors are typically passed down from one generation to the next (they run in families) or are the result of another disease or disorder. These risk factors can typically be controlled. Congenital heart defects (birth heart defects) cannot be changed, but there are now better studies and treatments for children with these types of heart problems.

Children and teens can reduce their risk of heart disease by altering or controlling risk factors that can increase their chances of heart disease later.

• High blood pressure (high blood pressure)
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Physical inactivity

It is worth mentioning that some of these risk factors can be altered, treated or modified and others cannot. But it is important to understand that prevention is the best way to avoid a heart problem later on. By starting to control as many risk factors as possible in childhood, you can reduce your risk of heart disease in adulthood.

High blood pressure

It is a serious illness in childhood, especially if it is not detected. Make sure your child’s blood pressure is checked during his annual checkup.

What is high blood pressure?

The heart pumps blood through a network of arteries, veins, and capillaries. Moving blood pushes against the walls of the arteries, and that force is measured as blood pressure.

High blood pressure is caused by a narrowing of very small arteries called “arterioles.” Arterioles regulate blood flow in the body. By narrowing (or contracting) these arterioles, the heart has to work harder to pump the blood through a smaller space, and the pressure inside the blood vessels increases.

What is the cause of high blood pressure in children?

High blood pressure (hypertension) in children is not a congenital heart disease, but there may be an inherited link. For this reason, when there is a family history of hypertension, it is necessary to monitor children’s blood pressure very carefully.

Most cases of high blood pressure in children are typically due to another disease, such as kidney or heart disease. This is called secondary hypertension. Less often, children have what is called “primary (or essential) hypertension.” This means that the true cause of high blood pressure is unknown.

how is the arterial pressure measured?

The doctor will measure your child’s blood pressure using a device called a sphygmomanometer.

Blood pressure readings measure both parts of pressure: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is the force of blood flow through an artery as the heart beats. Diastolic pressure is the force of blood flow within the blood vessels when the heart rests between beats.

A blood pressure reading measures both systolic and diastolic strength, with the systolic noted first. The figures indicate the pressure in units of millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), that is, the height at which the pressure within the arteries could raise a column of mercury.

The doctor will take your child’s age, gender, and height into account to determine age-specific systolic and diastolic blood pressures for that age, gender, and height. Doctors use this method because it allows them to take into account different levels of growth when determining blood pressure. It also allows them to obtain the most accurate blood pressure classification based on the child’s body size.

How is hypertension in children treated?

In most cases, it is possible to control hypertension in children if changes in their lifestyle are implemented.

• Help your child maintain a healthy body weight. Overweight children generally have higher blood pressure.
• Increase your level of physical activity.
• Limit your salt intake.
• Warn him of the risks of cigarette smoking. The nicotine in cigarettes narrows blood vessels, making it more difficult for blood to flow through them.

If a diet and exercise plan does not lower your child’s blood pressure, medications may be prescribed.