New NHLBI Initiative to Fight High BP

New Guidelines for Children

New Guidelines for Exercise and Hypertension

New NHLBI Initiative to Fight High Blood Pressure

Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure:  Mission Possible.  This initiative provides accurate, up-to-date information and materials that can be freely used to combat high blood pressure in your community and nationwide during National High Blood Pressure Education Month and thereafter.  It also offers ideas to help you build new kinds of partnerships to reach broader audiences with your high blood pressure awareness messages.  Materials include:  The 2005 National High Blood Pressure Education Month Community Kit, and online network where you can register to exchange ideas, educational materials for you and your partners to use in your high blood pressure awareness activities, and ideas for new kinds of partnership activities.  For more information or to download materials, click here.  (4/05)

New Guidelines for Children

New guidelines to combat high blood pressure in children have been released.  With blood pressure levels rising in children, the federal government has released new guidelines to better diagnose and treat emerging cases of high blood pressure.  The new guidelines are in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics.

A study released in May had noted that both systolic and diastolic blood pressure has increased significantly in children, caused in part by higher numbers of overweight and obese children.  More than 16% of children are believed to be overweight.  As children get heavier, the risk of high blood pressure increases as well.  As before, the new guidelines urge physicians to screen for high blood pressure at age 3 during routine office visits, and define normal blood pressure to be less than the 90th percentile for that child's sex, age, and height.  (7/04)

New Guidelines for Exercise and Hypertension

Getting at least 30 minutes a day of exercise not only helps prevent heart problems, but it should also be a part of the prescription for treating people with high blood pressure, according to a report released in March 2004.  Revised guidelines on exercise and hypertension that were released by the American College of Sports Medicine indicate that exercise should be a cornerstone of therapy for the prevention, treatment, and control of high blood pressure, and getting the recommended daily dose may not necessarily require working up a sweat.  The complete report appears in the March issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.  (7/04)