High blood pressure can start young

Doctors advise that children 3 years and older should be tested regularly

Blood pressure tests should be included as a regular physical checkup item for all children older than 3, as hypertension continues to rise among the very young and adolescents in China, pediatricians say.

Hypertension in minors is usually hard to detect, as 90 percent of young patients don't feel any discomfort or show any clinical symptoms, said Mi Jie, a pediatrics professor at the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, who is a leading expert on hypertension among young children and adolescents in the country.