The award was given on May 15 at the Closing Ceremony of the 5^th WHL World Hypertension Congress, held in Zhuhai Macau (China), on the occasion of World Hypertension Day, this Tuesday. The award recognises research applied to certain population groups and is the first time it has been awarded to a researcher from Europe. Claude Lenfant was director of the US National Health Institute.

“It is a recognition of research and its clinical application to improve people’s quality of life, this time in children and adolescents. The award recognises the advances made in research on arterial hypertension”, explains Empar Lurbe.

The interest generated by this topic in the international arena is proven by the development of clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of arterial hypertension in the paediatric population.

Empar Lurbe is coordinator of the international project HyperChildNET, financed by the COST program and by the European Union, and which deals with the study and holistic approach to arterial hypertension in children and adolescents. Among the actions developed by this project, a calculator stands out to facilitate the diagnosis of arterial hypertension, which is freely accessible for use by both specialists and citizens. This calculator allows the qualification of blood pressure values based on standard conditions established based on age, sex, and size.

HyperChildNET's objectives also include promoting research on arterial hypertension in childhood and adolescence, as well as disseminating scientific-technical information to provide guidelines for health professionals in accordance with the clinical guidelines of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH), of which Empar Lurbe is coordinator of the working group specialising in high blood pressure in children and adolescents.