Essential hypertension: a disorder of growth with origins in childhood?

To review evidence that essential hypertension is a growth-related disorder with origins in childhood and manifestations in adult life. Blood pressure rises with age in children and adults. In children, the rise closely relates to growth and to skeletal and sexual maturation. Adolescents with highes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hypertension Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 101
Main Authors: Lever, A F, Harrap, S B
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England 01.02.1992
Subjects:
Adult
Aging - physiology
Animals
Blood Pressure - physiology
Cardiomegaly - etiology
Child
Environment
Gonadal Steroid Hormones - physiology
Growth
Growth Hormone - physiology
Humans
Hypertension - etiology
Insulin - physiology
Insulin Resistance - physiology
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - physiology
Rats
Rats, Inbred SHR
ISSN:0263-6352
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:To review evidence that essential hypertension is a growth-related disorder with origins in childhood and manifestations in adult life. Blood pressure rises with age in children and adults. In children, the rise closely relates to growth and to skeletal and sexual maturation. Adolescents with highest pressure are heavier and had as children grown fastest; as adults, they show the greatest increase of pressure with age and are more likely to develop hypertension and coronary heart disease. In adults, the rate of increase of pressure relates to earlier pressure. One interpretation of this is that a self-perpetuating mechanism is at work. Genetic and environmental factors influence these events. Most forms of secondary hypertension have two pressor mechanisms; a primary cause, e.g. renal clip, and a second process, which is slow to develop, capable of maintaining hypertension after removal of the primary cause, and probably self-perpetuating in nature. We suggest that essential hypertension also has two mechanisms, both based upon cardiovascular hypertrophy: (1) a growth-promoting process in children (equivalent to the primary cause in secondary hypertension); and (2) a self-perpetuating mechanism in adults.
Bibliography:SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0263-6352
DOI:10.1097/00004872-199202000-00001