Importance of Early Recognition of Arterial Hypertension in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Arterial hypertension is considered an epidemic, remaining as the main cause of death and global disability. As high blood pressure in childhood is highly predictive of high blood pressure in adulthood, there has been a growing interest in the early recognition of this condition in the pediatric population, through outpatient screening in children over three years of age. Objective: to emphasize the importance of routine monitoring of blood pressure measurement in children and adolescents in childcare consultations. Methodology: This is a literature review of published articles, searched through the PubMed, Virtual Health Library and Google Scholar databases. Results: 12 scientific articles were selected as the data source for the present study, seven in English and five in Portuguese. Conclusion: the measurement of blood pressure in all consultations with children is important. If the disease is identified, treatment must be instituted, which will vary between non-pharmacological and pharmacological therapies, which should be introduced for all pediatric patients with blood pressure values above the acceptable percentile for age. In this sense, it is pertinent that nurses acquire and develop skills that make it possible to implement strategies for the prevention of hypertension, as well as the early identification of children and adolescents at risk of arterial hypertension.