HYPERTENSION IN A NEW YORK CITY HIGH SCHOOL POPULATION: PREVALENCE AND EVALUATION

Abstract

A screening program for hypertension was conducted in a New York City high school of 2,058 students. Hypertension was defined as 140/90 or above. Of the 1873 students tested 46 were hypertensive on repeated exam. Of these, 28 consented to hospitalization to evaluate possible renal, cardiac and endocrine causes of hypertension. The patients (23 females, 5 males) were 14-19 yrs. old. In the hospital, ambulatory blood pressures taken every 2-4 hrs. revealed 8 students had frequent hypertension, 18 had infrequent hypertension and 2 were normotensive. The following determinations were made: serum electrolytes, Ca, Phos, TP and A/G, BUN, creatinine, cholesterol, protein electrophoresis, lipoprotein electrophoresis, plasma renin activity (PRA), T4, FSH & LH, 17 β -ol-androgens, specific gravity and osmolarity after overnight thirst, creatinine clearance, urinary metanephrine and 17-KS, 17-OH and aldosterone excretion; cardiac series, bone age, ECG and rapid sequence IVP. Abnormal results were: 9 elevated serum cholesterol; 3 low PRA; 8 high PRA; 3 left ventricular hypertrophy on ECG; 7 abnormal urinalyses; 3 abnormal urine cultures and 10 low urine Sp. Gr. All other studies were normal and no specific cause for the hypertension was found in this evaluation. Obesity was present in 75%. Since effective antihypertensive treatment has been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of secondary cardiovascular disease, such a study is a necessary and valid public health measure.