How to treat hypertension in adolescents

  With the change of modern lifestyle, the incidence of hypertension in adolescents is increasing. The treatment of hypertension in adolescents should first clarify which condition is causing it, whether it is secondary hypertension or primary.  If the child’s blood pressure is severely elevated and there are symptoms such as panic, chest tightness and cold sweats when the blood pressure is elevated, it is likely to be caused by secondary hypertension, such as pheochromocytoma or renal hypertension or renal vascular hypertension, and for this type of hypertension, it should be treated for the primary cause. Pheochromocytoma should be operated, renal hypertension should be treated for kidney disease, and renal vascular hypertension can be treated by interventional or surgical means.  If the hypertension is not secondary, we should consider whether it is caused by poor lifestyle, such as obesity, not exercising, eating too much fatty food, etc. For hypertension caused by these factors, we should first improve these poor lifestyles, if the improvement of lifestyle does not reduce blood pressure, we can choose some antihypertensive drugs, such as the choice of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Regular consultation is also needed, and in general, conservative treatment is used, starting with non-pharmacological treatment to reduce the adverse factors. For hypertension medication caused by mental stress, attention should be paid to relax the child and keep him/her in a happy and joyful state.  In case of hereditary hypertension, in addition to a strict low salt and low fat diet, some antihypertensive drugs, such as calcium antagonists and diuretics, can be used.  In conclusion, for hypertension in adolescents, the possibility of secondary hypertension should be ruled out first, and then targeted treatment should be done.