New perspectives in childhood blood pressure

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is a new technique available to the pediatric cardiologist, and several studies have investigated its usefulness. Investigators are now providing data for both normal values and reproducibility. Other authors have examined the effects of hypertension in mothers upon their offspring, which include small birthweight and possible developmental delay. New data, particularly from the Bergen Blood Pressure Study, indicate that maternal hypertension may be a precursor for future blood pressure elevation in offspring. It is known that obese people are more likely to be hypertensive. A study performed in China in a lean population, including individuals who were relatively obese, showed the positive relation of body weight to blood pressure. Furthermore, data now emerging indicate that both retinal vessels and renal arteries in children suffer changes with persistently elevated blood pressure. This clearly is something to follow. Other articles examined in this review investigate the relation of atherosclerosis to hypertensive disease.