Cardiovascular implications in adolescent and young adult hypertension

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is one of the most prevalent diseases in the United States, affecting an estimated 3.5% of children and adolescents. It can be adversely affect most organ systems but is particularly detrimental to the heart and vascular systems. The repercussions can be gauged through well-established measures of cardiovascular function including left ventricular mass index (LVMI), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), and aortic stiffness. Cardiovascular function is also affected by underlying etiologies of hypertension including chronic kidney disease, polycystic kidney disease, coarctation of the aorta, adrenal disorders, renal artery stenosis, obstructive sleep apnea, as well as various drugs and medications (decongestants, stimulants, Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), and steroids). Methods: An exhaustive literature search was conducted for clinical data regarding pediatric hypertension. Sixty-seven articles were incorporated with data on 189,477 subjects total. The data was then extracted and categorized as relating to hypertension incidence, LVMI, LVH, cIMT, and/or aortic stiffness. Results: The prevalence of pediatric ( 18 years) hypertension extracted from 47 studies from 1994 to 2018 averaged 4%. The LVMI assessed over 7 studies (n = 661) averaged 39.3 g/ in the hypertensive cohort and 30.1 g/ in the control cohort. The cIMT assessed over 7 studies (n = 580) averaged 0.55 mm in the hypertensive cohort and 0.49 mm in the control cohort. Ambulatory arterial stiffness parameters assessed over 5 studies (n = 573) in the normotensive cohort averaged 99.73 mmHg, 69.81 mmHg, 76.85 mmHg, and 46.90 mmHg, for SBP, DBP, MAP, and PP respectively. Ambulatory arterial stiffness parameters assessed over 5 studies (n = 573) in the hypertensive cohort averaged 129.56 mmHg, 73.69 mmHg, 95.08 mmHg, and 56.80 mmHg, for SBP, DBP, MAP, and PP respectively. Conclusions: The significance of pediatric hypertension is emphasized by evidence of early cardiovascular disease as demonstrated by non-invasive measures including cIMT and arterial stiffness parameters, and target organ damage and including LVH and LVMI factors. Thus, early diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure is paramount for improving long term cardiovascular health and preventing long term morbidity and mortality.

New Guidelines for Hypertension Diagnosis and Treatment: An European Perspective

“…), add novel variables such as low birth weight, adverse outcomes of pregnancy such as preterm delivery, gestational hypertension and prediabetes, frailty of the older hypertensive patient, impact on BP of the migration processes and environmental exposure to air pollution and traffic noise [ 7 ]. ESH guidelines, however, emphasize the need to perform, at any patient’s age [ 10 ], risk stratification of the hypertensive patient on the presence of associated clinical conditions (diabetes, heart failure, miocardial infarction, stroke, renal insufficency) and asymptomatic target organ damage. The latter includes several measurements, based on their undisputable predictive value for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, large availability and cost (electrocardiography, echocardiography, carotid ultrasonography, pulse wave velocity estimated creatinine clearance or glomerular filtration rate through standardized formulae, serum creatinine and microalbuminuria) (level of evidence A) [ 7 ].…”