Hypertension in Children and Adolescents: A Literature Review

Abstract

           The prevalent trend of hypertension in children and adolescents is inclining.  Diagnosis of the disease in children and adolescents is more complicated than in adult due to three main factors which are  gender, age, and height. Blood pressure level in this special population is categorized into 3 levels:  normal, prehypertension, and hypertension. Hypertension in childhood manifests in many forms and it is highly predictive for  adulthood hypertension. Furthermore, accurate blood pressure measuring is vital in diagnosing this condition. Therefore, nurses who take an important role for caring and health promotion of children and adolescents should be knowledgeable about the measurement of blood pressure, definition of hypertension, diagnosis, and treatment including knowledge utilization  for  blood pressure measurement and result interpretation in searching for cases with hypertension and providing a further appropriate care. Nevertheless, early detection and diagnosis more likely incur proper care and lowering high blood pressure down to an optimal level.