Blood pressure 24-hour rhythms and variability in adolescents with hypertension

Twenty-four hour blood pressure (BP) monitoring was used for the study of BP 24-hour rhythms and variability in adolescents with hypertension and their normotensive counterparts. The data obtained evidenced for active participation of sympatho-adrenal system in genesis of juvenile hypertension: hypertension was predominantly systolic, BP elevation as a rule was associated with increased heart rate and pulse pressure. Episodes of BP elevation were registered mostly during day time. Desynchronization of 24-hour rhythms due to pronounced BP lowering during sleep characteristic for this age group found its reflection in values of nocturnal BP dipping. More than 1/3 of adolescents with episodes of elevated BP had <<white coat>> hypertension.