Hypertension and Adolescents – A Problem On The Rise

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Hypertension and Adolescents – A Problem On The Rise

Monday, April 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

While at one time hypertension and adolescents were not commonly found in the same sentence, sadly today the two appear together as the incidence of hypertension in adolescents is on the rise. The subsequent health challenges that hypertension can give rise to can really add insult to injury for people at such an early age.

It’s a known fact that long term hypertension contributes to significant cardiovascular and renal morbidity and mortality. Hypertension puts an extra load on the heart which can lead to complications such as hypertensive heart disease. As blood pressure rises, the rate of heart attack, stroke and kidney failure do too; all of which you don’t want to see anyone have to deal with, let alone someone still in their youth.

Dealing With Hypertension and Adolescents

When it comes to the matter of dealing with hypertension and adolescents, there are a few steps that you are going to want to take in order to lower and manage your blood pressure. As obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are a couple of the contributing factors, it is crucial to make some lifestyle changes. Food choices need to be centered around fresh fruits and vegetables, foods high in fiber, low in fat and low in sugar. Salt and caffeinated product intake must also be limited as these too can aggravate your blood pressure.

Exercise also plays an important role as you need to maintain a healthy weight in order to properly manage high blood pressure. Limiting your alcohol intake will be helpful here as well, as drinking too much alcohol can significantly raise blood pressure. It can result in damaging the liver, brain and heart, and can also cause you to gain weight.

Smoking is another factor that can contribute to high blood pressure as it injures blood vessel walls and speeds up the process of the hardening of the arteries.

Seek Medical Advice

In dealing with hypertension and adolescents it’s important to seek medical advice. As adolescence is a time of great physical change, hormone levels are constantly fluctuating which is another factor that must be considered in trying to regulate blood pressure. With the risk of so many serious associated health problems, hypertension is not a matter to be taken lightly, or even worse – ignored.

By seeking medical counsel and having them monitor the condition you will be able to determine which specific treatment plan works best. Although prescription medication is often used to help treat high blood pressure, in the case of adolescents less invasive measures are typically suggested.

Straight-Talk to Parents

The likelihood of your adolescent making healthy lifestyle changes will be greatly enhanced if the whole family makes a change. Given that hypertension tends to be a symptom-free condition, the changes made may not even make any noticeable difference in how your adolescent feels, so they may need some real encouragement to stick with the program. As the ramifications of not continuing with healthy choices are far too grave, be an example for them to follow. Continue to do research, ask questions and make the lifestyle changes that will prove useful not only for now, but for the future as well.

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