A high blood pressure level in adults is considered the single most important modifiable risk factor for global disease burden, especially those of cardiovascular (CV) origin such as stroke and ischemic heart disease. Because blood pressure levels have been shown to persist from childhood to adulthood, elevations in pediatric levels have been hypothesized to lead to increased CV burden in adulthood and, as such, might provide a window in the life course where primordial and primary prevention could be focused. In the absence of substantive data directly linking childhood blood pressure levels to overt adult CV disease, this review outlines the available literature that examines the association between pediatric blood pressure and adult preclinical markers of CV disease.
History
Publication title
Clinical Medicine Insights: Blood Disorders
Volume
9
Pagination
1-8
ISSN
1179-545X
Department/School
Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Publisher
Sage Publications Ltd.
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Rights statement
COPYRIGHT 2016 the authors, publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Limited. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 3.0 License.