Coinciding with the World Children´s Day which will be celebrated on 20 November, the first European HyperChildNET week will be launched. Key topics related to hypertension in children and adolescents will be addressed.
A great variety of scientific dissemination and awareness actions are planned from 15 to 21 November. The European HyperChildNET week has a double objective, on the one hand, to raise awareness about the importance to control blood pressure in children and adolescents among health care professionals and, on the other hand, to disseminate healthy practices for the general population, with a particular focus on children, adolescents as well as their families and educators.
Doctor Empar Lurbe, full professor at the University of Valencia, head of the Pediatrics department of the Hospital General Universitario of Valencia, and at the same time Chair of the international project HyperChildNET highlights “The necessity to launch the first European week which will be celebrated each year coinciding with the World Children´s Day, in order to establish a diverse list of activities to be organized in various European countries in parallel, in order to promote objectives related to the fight against hypertension in children and adolescents”.
The central theme is to emphasise the relevance of blood pressure measurement in children and adolescents answering three main questions:
- Why is it important to measure blood pressure?
- What is the methodology for measuring it?
- How to establish the diagnosis of hypertension?
In the words of Augustina Jankauskienė, professor and responsible of the Pediatric Center of the Institute of Clinical Medicine of the University of Vilnius (Lithuania), “Blood pressure varies, depending on a child’s activity level, stress, and other circumstances. Broad variability may impact other organs, including the heart, brain, and eyes. Due to its variability, it should be measured regularly. Early diagnosis of elevated BP can promote the introduction of lifestyle changes and reduction of CV risk later in life.”
According to Stella Stabouli, professor and responsible for the Department of Pediatrics at the Aristotle University Thessaloniki, Hippocratio General Hospital, “Proper blood pressure measurement technique has important impact on the accuracy of office BP measurement. According to the European Society of Hypertension 2016 guidelines BP should be measured three times in children and adolescents with an interval of 3 min apart, and then evaluate the average of the last two readings to determine the child’s or adolescent’s BP levels.”
Indeed, among its objectives, HyperChildNET aims at circulating scientific and technical information to provide guidelines to health care professionals according to the European Guidelines of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH), of which Empar Lurbe is also co-author through her work as Chair of the ESH Working Group specialized in hypertension in children and adolescents.
“As BP levels change with activity and stress it is important that blood pressure is measured in a specific manner, using the correct BP measurement device and if raised, confirmed on at least in three separate occasions. Blood pressure is considered elevated, if either the upper or the lower number is above the BP value decided by the doctor.” That is how it is expressed by professor Manish Sinha, of the Nephrology Department of Evelina London Children’s Hospital, London, also a promoter of the initiative.
During the HyperChildNET week, the researchers of this international network composed by 23 countries will be tipped towards health care professionals of the field and also towards families and educators to disseminate the objectives of the network, and all of this, with the objective to improve the children´s and adolescents’ quality of life.
OBJECTIVES OF THE EUROPEAN WEEK IN OTHER LANGUAGES
HyperChildNET Week, 1st press release ESTONIAN
HyperChildNET Week, 1st press release GERMAN
HyperChildNET Week, 1st press release LITHUANIAN
HyperChildNET Week, 1st press release SPANISH
HyperChildNET Week, 1st press release TURKISH
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ARTICLES RELATED TO THE EUROPEAN WEEK
Professor Giuseppe Mancia
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Why is it important to measure blood pressure in children and adolescents?
Prof. Augustina Jankauskienė, Pediatric Center, institute of Clinical Medicine, Vilnius University
Why is it important to measure blood pressure in children and adolescents GERMAN
Why is it important to measure blood pressure in children and adolescents GREEK
Why is it important to measure blood pressure in children and adolescents LITHUANIAN
Why is it important to measure blood pressure in children and adolescents SPANISH
Why is it important to measure blood pressure in children and adolescents Turkish
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How do we appropriately measure blood pressure in children and adolescents?
Prof. Stella Stabouli, 1st Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University Thessaloniki, Hippocratio General Hospital
How do we appropriately measure BP GERMAN
How do we appropriately measure BP GREEK
How do we appropriately measure BP LITHUANIAN
How do we appropriately measure BP SPANISH
How do we appropriately measure BP TURKISH
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How to establish different blood pressure categories in children and young people?
Prof. Manish Sinha, Department of Nephrology, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
How to establish different BP categories in children and adolescents GERMAN
How to establish different BP categories in children and adolescents GREEK
How to establish different BP categories in children and adolescents LITHUANIAN
How to establish different BP categories in children and adolescents SPANISH
How to establish different BP categories in children and adolescents TURKISH
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