Most people think high blood pressure (also called hypertension) affects only adults, but kids can have it too. While most children with hypertension don’t face the same immediate risks that adults do, high blood pressure can still put children at risk for serious health complications later in life.
Causes of high blood pressure in children?
In young children, hypertension often results from an underlying medical condition. This kind of hypertension, known as secondary hypertension, can be caused by an imbalance of hormones that help to regulate blood pressure.
For instance, children with excess levels of aldosterone, a hormone made in the adrenal glands, often retain water and salt while eliminating too much potassium, which can lead to hypertension.
Cushing’s disease, which causes overproduction of another adrenal hormone, cortisol, may raise a child’s blood pressure. Hypertension can also occur in children with Graves’ disease, in which an increase in thyroid hormone levels raises heart rate.
Chronic kidney disease, which causes progressive kidney damage, is another important cause of hypertension. Chronic kidney disease can occur in children who are born with a congenital kidney problem, or in those with conditions that affect filtering structures in the kidneys, such as glomerulonephritis and renal tubular disorders. It can also develop in children with other disorders that cause kidney damage, such as lupus. Over time, chronic kidney disease leads to a buildup of excess fluid and sodium and an increase in the production of renin, a hormone that helps regulate blood pressure.
Babies born with a congenital heart defect that causes a narrowing or blockage in the aorta, the large artery that delivers oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body, are at risk for hypertension later on. If left untreated, the heart may have to work harder to pump blood, which can cause enlargement of the heart, or heart failure.
A narrowing of one or both renal arteries, the vessels that supply the kidneys with blood, can also cause hypertension. It can be treated with a procedure to widen the narrowed blood vessel.
Essential, or primary, hypertension occurs for unknown reasons and is more common in adolescents than young children. Risk is increased in children who are obese or have a family history of hypertension. Conditions that often accompany obesity, such as obstructive sleep apnea, which disrupts breathing during sleep, and type 2 diabetes, which can damage blood vessels, also increase the risk of hypertension in children.
Common symptoms of high blood pressure in children
High blood pressure usually doesn’t cause symptoms. However, signs and symptoms that might indicate a high blood pressure emergency (hypertensive crisis) include:
- Headaches
- Seizures
- Vomiting
- Chest pains
- Fast, pounding or fluttering heartbeat (palpitations)
- Shortness of breath
If your child has any of these signs or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
