Blood Pressure For Infants

Bp blood pressure the 90th percentile is 1 28 sd 95th percentile is 1 645 sd and the 99th percentile is 2 326 sd over the mean.

Blood pressure for infants. Turn the valve on the blood pressure cuff to release the pressure. Using the bulb pump up the pressure until you read 150mm hg. An infant s blood pressure is measured in relationship to birth weight. Correct cuff size depends on arm size.

For research purposes the standard deviations in appendix table b 1 allow one to compute bp z scores and percentiles for boys. Many children with high blood pressure also have adult relatives with hypertension so there may be a hereditary aspect to the disease. Lifestyle changes such as eating a heart healthy diet and exercising more can help reduce high blood pressure in children. Several factors such as hormones the health of the heart and the health of the kidneys can cause an infant to have high blood pressure 5 in newborns a blood clot in a kidney vessel often resulting from the use of an umbilical catheter to help a baby breathe better or allow medical staff to administer medications is often the cause.

At birth the approximate normal blood pressure of a healthy baby is 61 to 79 systolic over 30 to 54 diastolic. High blood pressure risks and treatments. Hypotension low blood pressure can happen in children for many reasons some of which can be easily cured dehydration while others can be more complex and life threatening disease. Practically speaking correct cuff size equals largest cuff that will fit on the upper arm with room below for the stethoscope head.

This is the systolic pressure. Listen for a pulse sound with the cuff inflated. At 1 month of age normal. If coarctation of the aorta is the cause there may be decreased pulses or blood pressure in the legs.

When the pulse. Normal blood pressure the normal blood pressure in an infant varies by age and depends on whether the baby is sleeping awake or crying. Place the stethoscope over the crease in the baby s elbow. The condition affects newborns and babies under the age of one year.

Begin routine blood pressure bp measurement at 3 years of age. A click may be heard if a bicuspid aortic valve occurs with the coarctation. When you hear one check the gauge and write down the number. There is a higher incidence of high blood pressure in african american children after the age of 12 and into adulthood.

Older children can develop high blood pressure for the same reasons adults do excess weight poor nutrition and lack of exercise. But for some children medications may be necessary. Other tests in infants with high blood pressure will try to find the cause of the problem. Low blood pressure may be a goal for many adults but children with a lower than normal blood pressure can be facing serious danger.