[Hypertension - literature review of diagnosis and management procedures in childhood].

Hypertension is a common clinical problem in the emergency units in children's population, but only 1% of children and adolescents have elevated blood pressure level on repeated measurements. Established hypertension is blood pressure above 95th centile regarding children's age, gender and body height. Diagnostic procedures are aimed at establishing blood pressure levels, identifying secondary causes of hypertension and evaluating the possible cardiovascular risk factors. Therapeutic intervention includes both lifestyle changes and pharmacologic therapy. The goal of the therapy is to reduce blood pressure to levels lower than the 90th percentile for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure for children of similar age, gender and height. By reducing blood pressure to normal range, long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality may be reduced. The acceptance of childhood hypertension guidelines must be an interdisciplinary process, which includes regional experts to draw up recommendations specifically directed toward the management of patients at the local level.