Table 8 Guiding criteria for the differential diagnosis between essential hypertension and secondary forms of hypertension
From: Focus on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in children and adolescents
Essential forms | Secondary forms | |
|---|---|---|
Onset | Most frequent in children and adolescents | Often early |
Discovery | Casual during annual control visit | Often underlying disease already known |
Blood pressure values | Moderately elevated | Often markedly elevated |
Associated symptoms | None | According to specific disorder |
Family history | Often positive for essential hypertension | Familiar forms are rare |
Overweight | Often present | Not frequent |
Femoral pulse | Present | Reduced or absent with coarctation of the aorta |
Difference between BP values in upper and lower extremities | Not present | Present with coarctation of the aorta |
Blood sodium, potassium and creatinine levels, urinalysis, thyroid hormones | Normal | Altered in some specific disorders |
Echocardiography | Normal (left ventricular hypertrophy may be present) | Allows diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta (left ventricular hypertrophy may be present) |