Pre-Hypertension in Adolescents: A New Old Issue

As there is no doubt that the risk of hypertension is proportional to the increase in blood pressure (BP) and has no specific threshold, the higher the pressure, the higher the risk. In this context, the identification of individuals with increased cardiovascular risk in the subclinical asymptomatic stage is of paramount importance in the future to improve patients’ quality of life and reduce the costs and burden of health services.

From the first attempt to measure the arterial pulse, performed by Santorio Sanctorius (1561 – 1636), to Riva-Rocci, who put an end to the search for a simple clinical method for BP assessment, BP control has gained more and more prominence among clinicians and researchers. Consequently, BP values considered to be normal have gradually become lower and lower.

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