Introduction: In children, the increase in blood pre-ssure significantly precedes the appearance of clinical symptoms of hypertension. Those with mild or mo-derate increase in blood pressure values usually are asymptomatic for a long time.
Methods: The study of the symptoms in children with arterial hypertension included the examination of 80 children with essential hypertension.
Results: From a total of children with elevated blood pressure 60 (75%) had different complaints. The rest of them were asymptomatic – 20 (25%) and the only symptom was, elevated blood pressure. It was stated that 56 (70%) of children had headaches; tinnitus and phosphenes had 28 (35%) of patients; epistaxis in the course of the episode of hypertension had 13 (16.3%) of the subjects; palpitations were present in 18 (22.5%) of children; chest pain was present in 40 (50%) of pati-ents. Most frequently, headache had an occipital loca-lization (n=40; 50%). Temporo-parietal headache was present in 11 (13.75%) children and 5 (6.25%) had a diffuse headache. From all the study group, 39 (48.7%) of children had irritability. Sleep disturbances had 34 (42.5%) of patients. 46 (57.5%) of children observed a decrease in intellectual abilities (memory, attention). Fatigability was present in 56 (70%) of children from the study group. Although the majority of the pati-ents (n=60; 75%) had complaints, symptomatic at the moment of the hypertensive state were 45 (56.2%) of children. From all the investigated patients, 30 (37%) associated the increase in blood pressure with psyho-emotional stress, 6 (7.5%) of them associated it with physical overworking and 44 (55%) of patients cannot mention any cause of the increase in blood pressure.
Conclusions: Study of the characteristics of arterial hypertension in children has revealed, that 25% of ca-ses will have an asymptomatic course. In the rest of the cases children presented with general complains: hea-dache, tinnitus, phosphenes, dizziness, nausea, chest pain, epistaxis, palpitations, hot flushes.