Hypertension is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, not
only in adults, but in youths also, as it is associated with long-term negative health effects. The
predominant type of hypertension in children is the secondary hypertension, with the chronic kidney
disease being the most common cause, however, nowadays, there is a rising incidence of primary
hypertension due to the rising incidence of obesity in children. Although office blood pressure
has guided patient management for many years, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring provides
useful information, facilitates the diagnosis and management of hypertension in children and adolescents,
by monitoring treatment and evaluation for secondary causes or specific phenotypes of
hypertension. In the field of secondary hypertension, there are numerous studies, which have reported
a strong association between different determinants of 24-hour blood pressure profile and the
underlying cause. In addition, in children with secondary hypertension, ambulatory blood pressure
monitoring parameters offer the unique advantage to identify pediatric low- and high-risk children
for target organ damage. Novel insights in the pathogenesis of hypertension, including the role of
perinatal factors or new cardiovascular biomarkers, such as fibroblast growth factor 23, need to be
further evaluated in the near future.
INFLUENCE OF WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE IN AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING OF OVERWEIGHT CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: PP.34.389
