Aanpak hypertensie bij kinderen en jongvolwassenen

Over recent decades the prevalence of hypertension among adolescents and young adults has risen. A worrisome consequence of this is that these children are more likely to suffer from hypertension as adults. Presently, the paediatric guidelines for the treatment of hypertension diverge from the guidelines for general practitioners. For example, a paediatrician may prescribe antihypertensive drugs to a 17-year-old boy with essential hypertension, whereas his general practitioner will withhold drug treatment and will only advise him lifestyle changes once he has passed his 18th birthday. In this article we plead for a review of the current hypertension treatment guidelines. It is our opinion that these guidelines should be based on an individual’s lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease instead of the ten-year risk. As a consequence, antihypertensive drugs should be considered in adolescents and young adults when lifestyle changes have proven unsuccessful. By doing so, many a young person will be spared decades of exposure to hypertension.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.