Pediatric hypertension SYMPTOMS AND PREVENTION

Lately, there's an alarming emerging trend of a growing number of children reporting symptoms of pediatric hypertension

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High blood pressure, aka hypertension, is generally associated with stressed-out adults leading sedentary lifestyles and/or battling metabolic diseases. But lately, there's an alarming emerging trend of a rising number of children reporting symptoms of paediatric hypertension.

Recent research indicates that high blood pressure (BP) in children is more prevalent than previously believed. An estimated 3-5 percent of children and adolescents suffer hypertension, with prevalence much higher among obese children. This presents a public health challenge that has the potential to turn into a cardiovascular crisis if left unchecked. Unlike in adults, hypertension in children is diagnosed based on percentile-based blood pressure charts, accounting for age, gender, and height. A child is hypertensive if her BP readings consistently fall above the 95th percentile on three separate occasions.

Dr. Tarun Singh, a neonatologist and child nutritionist at the Pediamedics Clinic and Kalpavriksh Healthcare, Delhi, spoke to