Hypertension Canada's 2016 Canadian Hypertension Education Program Guidelines for Blood Pressure Measurement, Diagnosis, and Assessment of Risk of Pediatric Hypertension.
We present the inaugural evidence-based Canadian recommendations for the measurement of blood pressure in children and the diagnosis and evaluation of pediatric hypertension. Rates of pediatric hypertension are increasing concomitant with increased rates of childhood obesity. With this, there is growing awareness of the need to measure blood pressure in children. Consequently, the present recommendations have been developed to address an important gap and improve the clinical care of children. For 2016, a total of 15 recommendations are presented. These are categorized in a fashion similar to that of the existing adult recommendations. Specifically, we present recommendations on (1) accurate measurement of blood pressure in children, (2) criteria for diagnosis of hypertension in children, (3) assessment of overall cardiovascular risk in hypertensive children, (4) routine laboratory tests for the investigation of children with hypertension, (5) ambulatory blood pressure measurement in children, and (6) the role of echocardiography. We discuss the rationale for the recommendations and present additional supporting material for the clinician, including tables with standardized techniques for blood pressure measurement and determination of normative blood pressure values for children. Hypertension Canada's Canadian Hypertension Education Program Guidelines Task Force will update the recommendations annually and develop future evidence-based recommendations to guide prevention and treatment of pediatric hypertension.
Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: kharris2@cw.bc.ca.
Kevin C
KC
Harris
Service de néphrologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Geneviève
G
Benoit
Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Janis
J
Dionne
Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Janusz
J
Feber
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada.
Lyne
L
Cloutier
Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Kelly B
KB
Zarnke
Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Raj S
RS
Padwal
Departments of Medicine, Community Health, and Cardiac Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Doreen M
DM
Rabi
Service de cardiologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Anne
A
Fournier
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000592:standards; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002170:Canada; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents