Ambulatory blood pressure and cardiac abnormalities

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It is well-known that children with established hypertension are at increased risk to develop left ventricular hypertrophy. It is less clear whether children who are at risk of developing hypertension, or who have pre-hypertension, are also at risk of cardiac abnormalities. In this issue of The Journal, Richey et al evaluated young patients with blood pressure greater than the 90^th percentile, or with a first degree relative with hypertension. They used 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) to better characterize the level of blood pressure. They found a positive correlation between left ventricular mass index and ABPM measures. These results suggest that ABPM may be a useful method to evaluate blood pressure in young patients who have hypertension or are at risk of hypertension.