Unauthorized duplication or distribution is a violation of copyright. This software is protected under international copyright law. Additionally, the authors and their affiliated institutions are not liable for any damages to users or third parties arising from the use of this software. Thus, this software should not be used for medical diagnostic or treatment purposes. Individual results, when compared to other children, can be affected by many factors. The Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The tools provided here are based on publicly available data from the following source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site: CDC. You can read more about blood pressure on the U.S. To be accurately diagnosed with hypertension, a child must have systolic or diastolic blood pressure equal to or greater than the 95th percentile on three separate occasions. Stage 2 hypertension BP levels are higher than 5 mm Hg above the 99th percentile. Stage 1 hypertension ranges from the 95th percentile to 5 mm Hg above the 99th percentile. The 2 stages of hypertension indicate how high above the 95th percentile a child's BP level is.

* Readings for Children with BP exceeding 120/80 mm Hg may indicate Stage 1 or Stage 2 hypertension, so putting those BP readings into the context of percentiles can help a health care provider determine appropriate treatment. The most precise measure of a child's BP is an average of multiple measurements taken over several weeks (or even months) by a health professional.Ī common approach is to obtain 3 assessments from different days to more reliably measure blood pressure.īP-for-age status categories and their related percentile rangesĪre shown in the following table: Blood Pressure for Age - Status CategoriesĪ Systolic and/or Diastolic BP Percentile of:Įqual to or greater than the 95th percentile Thus, elevated BP readings should be repeated and confirmed over several visits before a child is identified as having hypertension. Blood pressure is not always consistent, and can vary even when the child is resting.

Printable blood pressure chart by age