Risk factors

Your child's risk factors for high blood pressure depend on health conditions, genetics and lifestyle factors.

Primary (essential) hypertension

Primary hypertension occurs on its own, without an identifiable cause. This type of high blood pressure occurs more often in children age 6 and older. The risk factors for developing primary hypertension include:

• Being overweight or having obesity
• Having a family history of high blood pressure
• Having type 2 diabetes or a high fasting blood sugar level
• Having high cholesterol
• Eating too much salt
• Being Black or Hispanic
• Being male
• Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke
• Being sedentary

Secondary hypertension

Secondary hypertension is caused by another condition. It's more common in young children. Other causes of high blood pressure include:

• Chronic kidney disease
• Polycystic kidney disease
• Heart problems, such as severe narrowing (coarctation) of the aorta
• Adrenal disorders
• Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
• Narrowing of the artery to the kidney (renal artery stenosis)
• Sleep disorders, especially obstructive sleep apnea
• Certain drugs and medications, including those used to relieve a stuffy nose (decongestants), stimulants used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), caffeine, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and steroids
• Cocaine, methamphetamine and similar drugs