Health Library

High blood pressure is when the force of blood pumping through the arteries is too strong. This is also called hypertension. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the body.

Talk with your child's health care provider about what a healthy blood pressure is for your child. This may depend on their:

1. Sex.
2. Age.
3. Height.

Once your child turns 3 years old, they need to have their blood pressure checked each year. Children with high blood pressure are more at risk for heart disease and stroke as adults.

What are the causes?

In some cases, the cause isn't known. But there are many health problems that can cause high blood pressure. These include:

1. Kidney disease.
2. An abnormal growth of cells called a tumor.
3. Being born with narrow arteries.
4. A disease that impacts hormones, which are chemicals that affect how the body works.
5. Breathing during sleep that isn't normal.

What increases the risk?

Your child may be more likely to have high blood pressure if:

1. They're overweight.
2. Someone in their family has high blood pressure.
3. They were born early (preterm) or with a low birth weight.

What are the signs or symptoms?

Your child may not have any symptoms unless their blood pressure is very high. If your child does have symptoms, they may include:

1. Headache.
2. Lack of energy.
3. Irritability, which means getting annoyed easily.
4. Blurry eyesight.
5. A lot of nosebleeds.
6. Feeling short of breath.
7. Seizure.

How is this diagnosed?

Your child may be diagnosed based on their health history, symptoms, and blood pressure readings. The provider will take your child's blood pressure at 3 visits to compare the numbers.

High blood pressure is when your child's blood pressure is greater than the 95th percentile. This means their blood pressure is higher than most other children of the same sex, age, and height. If your child is 13 years of age or older, their blood pressure should be lower than 120/80.

Your child may also have more tests to see what may be causing their high blood pressure. These may include:

1. Blood tests.
2. Pee tests.
3. Imaging tests of the heart and kidneys.

How is this treated?

Your child may need to:

1. Lose weight.
2. Change their diet.
3. Get more physical activity and exercise more.
4. Limit their screen time. This includes time spent watching TV and playing video games.

If changes to your child's daily life aren't enough, your child may need to:

1. Take medicines to lower their blood pressure.
2. Have other health problems treated that may be causing the high blood pressure.

Follow these instructions at home:

Eating and drinking

1. Work with your child's provider and an expert in healthy eating called a dietitian to come up with a healthy eating plan for your child.
2. Make sure your child's diet is low in:
3. Salt (sodium).
4. Added sugars.
5. Give your child lots of fruits and vegetables.
6. If your child is older, you may want to have them try the DASH diet. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

Activity

1. Make sure your child gets enough physical activity. They should be running and playing 3–5 days a week (30–60 minutes per session).
2. Ask your child's provider what activities might be good for your child to do.
3. Limit your child's screen time to less than 2 hours each day.

General instructions

1. Give your child medicines only as told.
2. Work with your child's provider on a weight-loss program if your child is overweight.
3. Do not let your child smoke, vape, or use nicotine or tobacco.
4. Do not smoke or vape around your child.
5. Once your child is 3 years old, make sure they get a blood pressure check at least once a year.
6. Keep all follow-up visits. Your child's provider may do blood pressure checks at each visit.

Contact a health care provider if:

1. You need help making changes to your child's daily life.
2. Your child has any symptoms of high blood pressure.
3. Your child has changes to their eyesight, such as things looking blurry.

Get help right away if:

1. Your child gets a very bad headache.
2. Your child has chest pain.
3. Your child has trouble breathing.
4. Your child has a nosebleed that won't stop.
5. Your child has a seizure.

These symptoms may be an emergency. Do not wait to see if the symptoms will go away. Call 911 right away.

This information is not intended to replace advice given to you by your health care provider. Make sure you discuss any questions you have with your health care provider.