Psychoemotional status and arterial hypertension in children: search for correlation and clinical application

Arterial hypertension is a common problem in pediatrics that requires close attention from pediatricians and pediatric cardiologists. Scientific discoveries describing molecular-genetic interactions in disease progression unfortunately do not always help practitioners and patients to achieve full control of the disease. The anatomo-physiologic features of childhood have forced researchers to search for new reference points that can help clinicians select effective therapies. In recent years, clinicians and psychologists have noted a steady increase in anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence. Approximately 32% of adolescents have symptoms of anxiety that are mostly ignored and not corrected. In the future, such patients have a significantly increased risk of developing not only psychiatric abnormalities, but also cardiovascular diseases. Assessment of the patient's psychoemotional status may become an important factor in the selection of complex treatment, which will provide a personalized approach to the therapy of arterial hypertension in a child and prevent the development of its long-term consequences.