Blood pressure (BP) should be measured annually in children and adolescents 3 years onwards.
BP should be checked in all children and adolescents 3 years onwards at every health encounter if they have obesity, are taking medications known to increase BP, have renal disease, history of aortic arch obstruction or diabetes.
In less than 3 yrs age, a BP measurement should be attempted in following scenarios …
- History of prematurity, very low birth weight, or other neonatal complication
- Congenital heart disease
- Recurrent urinary tract infections, hematuria, or proteinuria, Known renal disease or urologic malformations
- Family history of congenital renal disease
- Solid-organ transplant, malignancy or bone marrow transplant
- Treatment with drugs known to raise BP
- Systemic illnesses associated with hypertension (neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, etc)
Next post…Techniques of BP measurement
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