About Aspirin and High Blood Pressure-:

What is the relationship between aspirin and high blood pressure? Learn about the ways that heart disease can be prevented and its possibility in affecting children.

It is a common notion that heart disease happens only in adulthood or in middle or older age groups. But in the recent years, research has been increasingly pointing towards the fact that even children are not entirely immune from this disease. The phenomenon of children with heart ailments has been increasing over the years.

Increased consumption of highly fatty foods and junk foods and snacks, and sedentary lifestyles, and obesity among the children is only adding to this growing problem.

Some recent studies have found out that nearly one-third of all children in the United States suffer from higher than normal levels of cholesterol. Particularly, in the western countries the consumption of saturated fats and trans fats is substantially higher than other countries. This could be an important factor in the growing proportions of this problem among children in the western world.

The American Heart Association has in fact started advising pediatricians to begin checking a child’s blood pressure from the age of three, and blood cholesterol testing from the age of five onwards. Furthermore, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that in cases where the parents or grand parents have a history of heart related problems or vascular problems before the age of 55, or if the parents suffer from abnormally high levels of cholesterol, in such situations it is even better to begin the monitoring tests on babies from the age of two onwards.

An increasingly high level of evidence has begun pointing in the direction that the problem of plaque depositing on the arteries to cause arterial blockages and high blood pressure originates in childhood itself. Till now it was believed that this problem begins in the older age, but research suggests that such problems start developing in early childhood itself. Eventually, it leads to hardening of arteries and constricted blood vessels, which increases the potential risk of a coronary heart disease.

The ideal levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) in children in the age groups of 2 to 19 years should be below 110, and the total cholesterol levels should be below 170. If these levels are breached significantly, it is important to consult a physician and review the treatment plan, earlier the better.

Parents must also be aware that each child’s ideal levels of blood pressure will vary depending upon their height, weight and age group. So only a doctor is the right person to decide the precise condition of a child and what should be the response to it.

Until recently, the doctors used to desist from prescribing cholesterol lowering medications for children below the age groups of 10 or 12. But increasingly, the doctors are of an opinion that it may not be possible to cut down the cholesterol levels by natural methods of exercise, diet and lifestyle improvements alone. Therefore, many doctors have begun to recommend drug therapy for smaller children in order to reduce the cholesterol levels.