Why is it important to study blood pressure in adolescents?
We want to study healthy adolescents to discover ways to prevent hypertension as they go into adulthood. We estimate that 1 percent to 2 percent of adolescents have hypertension. Around 50 million Americans, adults and children, have hypertension, but many are not aware that they do. So it is important for children and adolescents to have their blood pressure measured. Q: How was the study conducted? A: We had a total of 385 healthy students, representative of three ethnic groups in the Houston areaAfrican American, Hispanic, and Anglo. We had students wear ambulatory blood pressure monitors over a 24-hour-period and took a reading of their blood pressure every 30 minutes. We wanted to get a picture of what happened to their blood pressure as they went about their everyday activities. This gives us a much more in-depth view than just taking their blood pressure once or twice as we do in a physical exam. The students kept a diary and every time their blood pressure was taken, they fille
We want to study healthy adolescents to discover ways to prevent hypertension as they go into adulthood. We estimate that 1 percent to 2 percent of adolescents have hypertension. Around 50 million Americans, adults and children, have hypertension, but many are not aware that they do. So it is important for children and adolescents to have their blood pressure measured. Q: How was the study conducted? A: We had a total of 385 healthy students, representative of three ethnic groups in the Houston area—African American, Hispanic, and Anglo. We had students wear ambulatory blood pressure monitors over a 24-hour-period and took a reading of their blood pressure every 30 minutes. We wanted to get a picture of what happened to their blood pressure as they went about their everyday activities. This gives us a much more in-depth view than just taking their blood pressure once or twice as we do in a physical exam. The students kept a diary and every time their blood pressure was taken, they fill
