High-Risk Kids, Diabetics Need Regular Blood Pressure Checks

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"And when you put obesity and high blood pressure together, there are probably about 5 million children who have the metabolic syndrome, which is a substantial health problem that warrants considerable attention," she added.

ASH researchers referred to a recent study published in the organization's journal that projects that by the time currently obese adolescents reach the age of 35, 16 percent will have premature heart disease -- a tripling of current figures.

"So, the main point here is that high blood pressure in children is just the beginning of high blood pressure," Falkner said. "It's easily identifiable in children, and the link to adult health is becoming clear. So, as the obesity epidemic in children steadily increases and related risk factors -- such as high blood pressure -- worsen, we are obviously facing a higher and higher risk for accelerated heart disease down the road, and perhaps even blood vessel injury to young hearts."

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"This is why," she concluded, "it is very important that young children get screened as they grow and develop and enter adolescence."

For his part, ASH President-Elect Dr. George L. Bakris, director in the hypertensive diseases unit at the University of Chicago School of Medicine, emphasized that high blood pressure among diabetics is a widespread problem.

More than 75 percent of diabetic adults have high blood pressure or use medication to control their blood pressure, he and his colleagues noted.

"But to promote better blood pressure control, you really need a strategy that begins at the outset with combination drug therapy to control for a range of health concerns that touch upon blood pressure control and heart disease risk," he said.

Diuretics, calcium antagonists and ACE inhibitors are some of the medications that could be used in combination.

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