Kids with high blood pressure face a much greater risk of dying from heart disease by their mid 50s, a new study finds.
High blood pressure in childhood may set the stage for life-threatening heart problems later in life.
In a new study, kids with high blood pressure at age 7 faced a sharply increased risk of dying from heart disease by their mid-50s.
The study included nearly 38,000 children born between 1959 and 1966 who had their blood pressure measured at age 7 and their medical status tracked for decades.
By the time participants reached an average age of 54, more than 500 deaths were attributed to heart disease.
The lead author says the results showed a clear association between higher blood pressure in childhood and early death from heart issues.
She says, “Specifically, having hypertension or elevated blood pressure as a child may increase the risk of death by 40% to 50% over the next five decades of an individual’s life.”
Children who had blood pressure readings in the top 10% for their age, sex, and height faced the greatest risk.
But even children with numbers at the high end of the normal range were more likely to die prematurely from heart issues.
The researchers say these findings underscore the importance of monitoring blood pressure early—not just in adults, but in kids, too.
Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, American Heart Association Meeting
Author Affiliations: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
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