Primary Hypertension in Children, 24-hour Ambulatory Monitoring of the Blood Pressureand Geometry of the Left Ventricle

Overview

At present a growing body of evidence supports the view that hypertensive disease begins in childhood and thatthis condition is not a benign entity from the very beginning. 24-hour blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) providesnew possibilities of more accurate assessment of the impact of elevated blood pressure (BP) on the cardiovascularsystem. Results of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) have a much better correlation with end organdamage than casual blood pressure and provide more sensitive data of the ultimate prognosis. Left ventricularhypertrophy presents an independent risk factor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the adult population.Changes in left ventricular geometry can be detected even in childhood in subjects with obesity and elevated bloodpressure. ABPM and the assessment of left ventricular geometry seem to be sensitive markers of cardiovascularrisk.

Key words:
ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), hypertension, children, left ventricular geometry