Renal hypertension and cardiovascular disorder in children with chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Renal hypertension is one of the earliest and the most prevalent complications of pediatric chronic kidney disease (CKD). Among renal patients, hypertension is frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated. For casual blood pressure measurement, the best method is auscultatory, while for ambulatory blood pressure measurement, oscillometric method is the most commonly used. Both casual and ambulatory blood pressure measurement provide more powerful means of diagnosing hypertension. Masked hypertension is a condition in which casual blood pressure is normal but ambulatory blood pressure is elevated. The risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is higher with masked hypertension as compared to the controls. Children and adolescents with CKD are at high risk of cardiovascular disease that has been established as the leading cause of death in patients with end stage renal disease. Left ventricular hypertrophy remains the most thoroughly documented form of end-organ damage caused by hypertension in children and adolescents with CKD. Based on clear evidence on the correlation between blood pressure and cardiovascular morbidity, mortality, and renal function, renal hypertension must be aggressively treated. Target blood pressure for patients with renal hypertension should be at low normal values: <75 percentile for patients without proteinuria and <50 percentile for patients with proteinuria. Renin-angiotensin system antagonists are considered the first choice pharmacological option in hypertensive CKD 2-4 patients while the management of volume overload is the most important in dialysis patients. Successful transplantation can eliminate or significantly improve uremia-related cardiovascular risk factors and increase predicted life expectancy.