Renal Hypertension in Children

Persistent hypertension in children, it is becoming evident, is more common than has been appreciated. Aside from its well recognized occurrence in conjunction with glomerulonephritis, it is apparent that hypertension due to urologic conditions and a variety resembling the so-called essential hypertension of adults also occur. For this reason pediatricians are making more systematic surveys of the arterial blood pressure of children. Since it is evident that much might be done therapeutically in the early stages of hypertension, this tendency is commendable and should be encouraged. Persistent hypertension in children is practically always associated with renal disease. The relative number of instances in which urologic disabilities are responsible for elevated blood pressure is appreciably greater in the cases of children than in those of adults. Essential hypertension is relatively rare in children. Nevertheless, as Sobel 1 has suggested, transient hypertension in children, for example, that which occurs during emotional strain,