For years pediatricians didn’t worry much about treating
hypertension in their patients. After all, kids grow so fast, it’s hard keeping
up with their shoes size, let alone their blood pressure. Sure, hypertension in
adults places them at greater risk of heart attack and stroke. But nobody likes
the idea of starting youngsters on blood-pressure medicine they could wind up
taking the rest of their lives. Who knows what previously unheard-of side
effects could crop up after five or six decades of daily use
The rationale has been: kids grow out of so many things; maybe they’ll
grow out of this too. 41．Now, though, comes word that high blood
pressure can be destructive even in childhood. 42．Who is most at
risk Boys are more than girls, especially boys who are
overweight. Their heart works so hard to force blood through extra layers of fat
that its walls grow denser. Then, after decades of straining, it grows too big
to pump blood very well. 43．How can you tell if yours are like
the 670,000 American children ages 10 to 18 with high blood pressure
It’s not the sort of thing you can catch by putting your child’s arm in a
cuff at the free monitoring station in your local grocery. You should have a
test done by a doctor, who will consult special tables that indicate the normal
range of blood pressure for a particular child’s age, height and sex.
44．About half the cases of hypertension stem directly from kids being
overweight. 45．How can you do You can keep your
children from joining their ranks by clearing the junk food from your pantry and
hooking you kids — the earlier the better — on healthy, attractive snakes like
fruits (try freezing some grapes/or carrot sticks with salsa. ) Not only will
they lower your children’s blood pressure: These foods will also boost their
immune system and unclog their plumbing. [A] And the problem is
likely to grow. Over the past 30 years the proportion of children in the U. S.
who are overweight has doubled, from 5% to 11% or 4.7 million kids.
[B] According to a recent report in the journal Circulation, 19 of 30
children with high blood pressure developed a dangerous thickening of the heart
muscle that, in adults at least, has been linked to heart failure. “No one knows
if this pattern holds true for younger patients as well, ” says Dr. Stephen
Daniels, a pediatric cardiologist who led the study at Children’s Hospital
Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. “But it’s worrisome. ” [C]
Feed your children nutritious foods three times a day to keep his immune system
healthy. Make sure the meals include all the food groups to ensure they are
getting plenty of vitamins. [D] Fortunately the abnormal
thickening can be spotted by ultrasound. And in most case, getting that blood
pressure under control — through weight loss and exercise or, as a last resort,
drug treatment — allows the overworked muscle to shrink to normal
size. [E] If the doctor finds an abnormal result he will repeat
the test over a period of months to make sure the reading isn’t a fake. He’ll
also check, whether other conditions, like kidney disease, could be the source
of the trouble, because hypertension is hard to be detected. The National Heart,
Lung and Blood Institute recommends annual blood-pressure checks for every child
over age 3. [F] High blood pressure isn’t just an issue for
adults; keeping kids blood pressure levels in a healthy range is also important.
In a new study reported in Hypertension, researchers found that increased
exercise duration among kids leads to lower blood pressure levels, however the
same cannot be said for increased intensity. [G] Meanwhile, make
sure your kids spend more time on the playground than with their PlayStation.
Even if they don’t shed a pound, vigorous exercise will help keep their blood
vessels nice and wide, lowering their blood pressure. And of course, they’ll be
more likely to eat light and, exercise if you set a good example.