What is the standard for children's hypertension?

Many people think that only adults or the elderly can suffer from hypertension, but in fact children may also suffer from hypertension. Generally speaking, pediatric hypertension is divided into primary and secondary. At present, the cause of primary pediatric hypertension is still unclear, and it may be related to genetics and eating habits. When children suffer from high blood pressure, they will experience headaches, tinnitus, inattention, mood swings, etc.

Standards for hypertension in children

When it comes to hypertension, people always think it is a common disease among adults and cannot imagine that children may also suffer from this disease. So what is considered high blood pressure in children?

Infants under 1 month old have a systolic blood pressure greater than 12.8 kPa (96 mmHg);

Children aged 1 month to 2 years: greater than 14.9/9.8 kPa (112/74 mmHg);

3-5 years old, greater than 15/10 kPa (116/76 mmHg);

6-9 years old, greater than 16/10.4 kPa (122/78 mmHg);

10-12 years old, greater than 16.8/10.9 kPa (126/82 mmHg);

13-15 years old: greater than 18/11.5 kPa (136/86 mmHg).

Exceeding the above standards can be determined as hypertension. Since most symptoms of hypertension in children are not obvious, parents often do not notice them. According to epidemiological data, the incidence of hypertension in children is 1% to 2.3%.

Prevention of hypertension in children :

Specific preventive measures are as follows :

(1) Key prevention targets

Children with normal to high blood pressure, those with a positive family history, and obese children should be the focus of prevention and have their blood pressure measured regularly. Vascular protection should be strengthened from childhood to prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. If a child over 4 years old has a family history of hypertension, nephritis, or is obese, and often suffers from dizziness, lightheadedness, or palpitations, parents should be vigilant and take the child to the hospital to measure blood pressure as soon as possible in order to detect the problem early and provide appropriate treatment.

(2) Develop good eating habits

In terms of diet, the normal growth and development needs of children should be ensured, a reasonable and nutritionally balanced diet should be provided, overweight should be avoided, and excessive milk or total calories should be avoided starting from infancy. In your daily diet, avoid eating too much high-fat, high-cholesterol food, eat less refined rice and noodles, eat more vegetables, encourage a low-salt diet, and eat less fatty meat, lard and other foods with high cholesterol content. Because of high cholesterol, plaques will grow on the vascular endothelium, blocking the blood vessels, making it easy to develop arteriosclerosis, and causing hypertension and coronary heart disease.

(3) Develop good living habits

Have a regular daily routine, go to bed early and get up early. Stick to physical exercise, avoid excessive mental stress and stimulation, such as heavy study burden, TV and movies with horror or shocking content, reduce noise in the environment, ensure adequate sleep time, and do not stay up all night, because blood vessels relax during sleep and blood pressure can drop. Avoid smoking, drinking, etc.