High blood pressure (hypertension) is an increase in the force of blood against the arteries in the body. This article focuses on high blood pressure in infants.
Alternative NamesHypertension - infants
Causes, incidence, and risk factorsBlood pressure measures how hard the heart is working, and how healthy the arteries are. There are two numbers in each blood pressure measurement:
Blood pressure measurements are written this way: 120/80.
Several factors affect blood pressure, including:
High blood pressure in infants is usually the result of kidney or Heart disease that is present at birth (congenital). In newborn babies, high blood pressure can also result from a blood clot in a kidney blood vessel, a complication of having an umbilical catheter.
Other causes of high blood pressure in infants may include:
Blood pressure rises as the baby grows. The average blood pressure in a newborn is 64/41. The average blood pressure in a child ages 1 month - 2 years is 95/58. Some variations in these numbers are normal and are not cause for concern.
SymptomsMost babies with high blood pressure will not have symptoms. Instead, symptoms may be related to the condition causing the high blood pressure. These symptoms may include:
Symptoms may appear if the baby has very high blood pressure. These symptoms include:
Usually, the only sign of high blood pressure is the blood pressure measurement itself.
Signs of very high blood pressure include:
Blood pressure in infants is measured with an automatic device.
If coarctation of the aorta is the cause, there may be decreased pulses in the legs. A click may be heard if a bicuspid aortic valveoccurs with the coarctation.
Other tests in infants with high blood pressure will try to find the cause of the problem. Such tests may include:
The treatment depends on the cause of high blood pressure in the infant. Treatment can include:
How well the baby does depends on the cause of high blood pressure.
Other factors that may affect how well the baby with high blood pressure does include:
Call your health care provider if your baby:
Take your baby to the emergency department if your baby:
There is no way to prevent conditions that cause high blood pressure in infants. However, there are some things you can do that may reduce the baby's risk of developing such problems.
Some causes of high blood pressure run in families. Talk to your health care provider before you get pregnant if you have a family history of:
If you have any medical condition and take medication for it, talk to your health care provider before becoming pregnant. Exposure to certain medications in the womb may increase your baby's risk of developing problems that can lead to high blood pressure.
ReferencesBehrman RE. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 17th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2004.
Robertson J, Shilkofski N, eds. Johns Hopkins: The Harriet Lane Handbook: A Manual for Pediatric House Officers, 17th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby; 2005.
Park MK. Park: Pediatric Cardiology for Practitioners, 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier; 2008.
High blood pressure (hypertension) is an increase in the force of blood against the arteries in the body. This article focuses on high blood pressure in infants.
Alternative NamesHypertension - infants
Causes, incidence, and risk factorsBlood pressure measures how hard the heart is working, and how healthy the arteries are. There are two numbers in each blood pressure measurement:
Blood pressure measurements are written this way: 120/80. One or both of these numbers can be too high.
Several factors affect blood pressure, including:
High blood pressure in infants may be due to kidney or heart disease that is present at birth (congenital). Common examples include:
In newborn babies, high blood pressure is often caused from a blood clot in a kidney blood vessel, a complication of having an umbilical catheter.
Other causes of high blood pressure in infants may include:
Blood pressure rises as the baby grows. The average blood pressure in a newborn is 64/41. The average blood pressure in a child ages 1 month - 2 years is 95/58. Some variations in these numbers are normal and are not cause for concern.
SymptomsMost babies with high blood pressure will not have symptoms. Instead, symptoms may be related to the condition causing the high blood pressure. These symptoms may include:
Symptoms may appear if the baby has very high blood pressure. These symptoms include:
Usually, the only sign of high blood pressure is the blood pressure measurement itself.
Signs of very high blood pressure include:
Blood pressure in infants is measured with an automatic device.
If coarctation of the aorta is the cause, there may be decreased pulses in the legs. A click may be heard if a bicuspid aortic valveoccurs with the coarctation.
Other tests in infants with high blood pressure will try to find the cause of the problem. Such tests may include:
The treatment depends on the cause of high blood pressure in the infant. Treatment can include:
How well the baby does depends on the cause of high blood pressure.
Other factors that may affect how well the baby with high blood pressure does include:
Call your health care provider if your baby:
Take your baby to the emergency department if your baby:
There is no way to prevent conditions that cause high blood pressure in infants. However, there are some things you can do that may reduce the baby's risk of developing such problems.
Some causes of high blood pressure run in families. Talk to your health care provider before you get pregnant if you have a family history of:
If you have any medical condition and take medication for it, talk to your health care provider before becoming pregnant. Exposure to certain medications in the womb may increase your baby's risk of developing problems that can lead to high blood pressure.
ReferencesBernstein D. Systemic hypertension. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics.18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 445.
Update on the 1987 Task Force Report on High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents: a working group report from the National High Blood Pressure Education Program. National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group on Hypertension Control in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics. 1996 Nov;98(5):1002.
Robertson J, Shilkofski N, eds. Johns Hopkins: The Harriet Lane Handbook: A Manual for Pediatric House Officers, 17th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby; 2005.
Park MK. Park: Pediatric Cardiology for Practitioners, 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier; 2008.
Reviewed ByReview Date: 07/14/2010
David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine.
Blood pressure is not routinely measured in infants and toddlers because it is not common for them to have high blood pressure. It would be monitored if there was a reason to do so or if the child was hospitalized but you're right in that it is not a common part of a routine checkup for infants and toddlers.
The common name for hypertension is high blood pressure. To be diagnosed with high blood pressure, a person typically has three or more readings of 140/90 or higher.
High Blood Pressure and Hypertension are the same thing
can high blood pressure cause visual hallucinations
no they are different
It doesn't cause high blood pressure. However, it can increase your blood pressure.
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If you have this disorder you will have high blood pressure. If you are pregnant with high blood pressure this can be dangerous. Your doctor will help you lower your blood pressure.
It is bad to have high blood pressure at any age, at any weight. High blood pressure in childhood leads to worse cases of high blood pressure in adulthood also.
Yes hyperthyroidism can cause high blood pressure.
no because it may cause high blood pressure.
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