Childhood Blood Pressure and Atherosclerosis

The higher a child's systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading), the greater are his or her chances of developing atherosclerosis in middle age, researchers say. Overweight children and children with a family history of high blood pressure are more likely to develop high blood pressure in childhood. It's important to have your child's blood pressure checked regularly. The study was published in 2004 in the journal Hypertension.