What Else Should I Know?Įven though kids with high blood pressure generally feel fine, it's important to follow the advice of the care team. If diet and exercise changes do not improve the blood pressure, doctors may prescribe medicine. People with high blood pressure should not smoke, and their home and car should be smoke-free. Kids with severe hypertension should not do any weightlifting or power-lifting, bodybuilding, or strength training until their blood pressure is under control and a doctor says it's OK. Getting regular exercise for 30–60 minutes at least 3 times a week. Avoid caffeine (found in sodas, tea, coffee, and energy drinks).Eat more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy.If high blood pressure is due to a condition like kidney disease or lung disease, treating it might be enough to get the blood pressure back to normal.ĭoctors also might recommend lifestyle changes for kids with hypertension, such as: This can be better information than blood pressure tests in the doctor's office because kids keep doing their usual activities, including sleep. The child wears a blood pressure cuff for a whole day and night. Sometimes doctors use a test called ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Then, they use an average of those measurements.įor kids who are anxious and keep having high blood pressure at the doctor's office, blood pressure may be measured somewhere else, like at home or by the school nurse. So, health care providers usually check blood pressure on a few different visits. Often, kids' blood pressure will be higher when they are nervous. Sometimes it can take several blood pressure checks to find out a child has high blood pressure. How Is High Blood Pressure Diagnosed?ĭiagnosing high blood pressure in kids can be tricky because there aren't always symptoms and blood pressure can vary from day to day. You hear blood pressure reported as the first number "over" the second number, like 120 over 80 or 120/80. The pressure when the heart rests between beats.Blood pressure is measured as air is slowly let out of the cuff, which lets blood flow through the artery again.īlood pressure is measured in two numbers: When the cuff inflates, it squeezes a large artery, stopping the blood flow for a moment. Health care providers measure blood pressure with a cuff that wraps around the upper arm or the leg in babies.
If your child has high blood pressure and gets any of these symptoms, get medical care right away.
In rare cases, severe high blood pressure can cause headaches, blurry vision, dizziness, nosebleeds, a fluttering or racing heartbeat, and nausea. Most of the time high blood pressure doesn't cause symptoms. What Are the Signs & Symptoms of High Blood Pressure? While high blood pressure is far more common in adults, kids and teens can have it too. When a cause is found, high blood pressure usually is from: Most of the time, no specific cause is found. It's affected by activity and rest, body temperature, diet, emotions, posture, and medicines. It comes down when the heart relaxes.īlood pressure changes from minute to minute. When the heart squeezes and pushes blood into the vessels, blood pressure goes up. How Does Blood Pressure Work?īlood pressure is the force against blood vessel walls as the heart pumps blood. Finding and treating high blood pressure early can help kids be healthy. After a while, high blood pressure can damage the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.