Early diagnosis of masked hypertension in adolescents
Objective: to improve diagnosis of latent arterial hypertension by studying the characteristics of hemodynamics and the rigidity of the vascular walls of the arteries in adolescents with this phenomenon. Material and Methods. The study involved 147 children aged 11 to 18 years who did not have heart rhythm disorders, congenital heart defects, endocrine diseases and diseases of the kidneys. They were divided into three groups on the basis of blood pressure values (BP) obtained during three measurements of blood pressure according to the method of N. S. Korotkov and when conducting 24-hours ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Group 1 included children with blood pressure values in the range from 5 to 95 percentile. Group 2 was composed children with masked hypertension (values of office blood pressure in the range from 5 to 95 percentile but indicators of ABPM of blood pressure is greater than 95 percentile). Group 3 included children with stable arterial hypertension (blood pressure values exceeded the 95 percentile). The study was a comparative analysis of the hemodynamic and rigidity (stiffness) of the arteries. Results: Most hemodynamic parameters in children with masked hypertension were higher than in children of group 1. However, these figures were lower than in children with stable arterial hypertension. Among the indicators of the rigidity of the arteries, the most sensitive indicator (dP/dt) max was maximum rate of pressure rise. Children with masked hypertension had increased arterial stiffness, however it was lower than in children with stable arterial hypertension. Conclusion: The use of BPLab monitor with technology Vasotens allows physicians to evaluate the daily profile of arterial pressure, the hemodynamics and stiffness of blood vessels, which is an important step for early diagnostics of latent arterial hypertension in children