(WXYZ) — Tuesday is World Hypertension Day, and high blood pressure is a primary risk of cardiovascular disease.
According to the CDC, 29% of U.S. adults suffer from hypertension, and 63% of adults age 60 and up have high blood pressure.
But, hypertension is on the rise in kids, too, and if left unchecked, it can have a lifetime of negative consequences.
According to data, elevated blood pressure has been found in 6% of children, and actual hypertension in 3%. That's nearly one in ten children and adolescents with high blood pressure concerns.
Some are a result of blood vessel problems or heart issues but the growth in pediatric hypertension is tied to expanding waistlines.
"As the obesity epidemic really rages among children as well, is that we're seeing much more blood pressure elevations and hypertension among children and adolescents," Dr. Zubin Modi, a pediatric nephrologist at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, said.
Modi said with really high blood pressure, kids may complain of headaches or vision changes. But most kids don't have any symptoms. Still, damage to blood vessels, the heart and kidneys can still occur, so identification and early intervention is key.
"In early childhood we do a good job because kids are seen regularly and they're going for things like vaccines and things like that that starts to tail off," Modi said.
It comes as kids get older and doctors visits become less routine.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening all patients for hypertension annually and high-risk patients at each visit beginning at just 3 years old.
Modi says once other causes are ruled out, he treats high blood pressure in kids a lot like adults, by focusing on diet, exercise and lifestyle changes. Medication comes as a last resort.
"To kind of prepare children for their entire lives, also prepare them for the good habits that they're going to need to maintain those blood pressure kind of levels throughout the course of their lives," Modi said.
That is key because new research presented at American Stroke Association’s International Conference suggests high blood pressure in younger adults in their 20s and 30s is tied to brain changes in mid-life that could increase the risk of cognitive decline later.
The point here is that screening is key even in kids and younger adults, and in those younger adults, more aggressive treatment may be warranted to prevent neurological changes later in life.
