Examining hypertension in children and adolescents: Clinical implications of the differences between the European and American Guidelines

Abstract

Over the past 2 years, new guidelines for hypertension in children and adults have been published. The first, developed by the European Hypertension Society Working Group on Hypertension in Children and Adolescents, recognised the need for an update of the of the 2009 European Guidelines of in order to incorporate the new information acquired over the last few years. Subsequently, an update of the American guidelines (the most recent of which was in 2004), has been published. In both guidelines there are aspects which are agreed on, and in others, there are marked differences in the basic elements that have an influence on daily clinical practice. The main differences are centred on the criteria for the diagnosis and classification of hypertension, with the subsequent impact on its prevalence. Future studies should offer responses to all the questions that still remain unresolved.