Hypertension causes 7.1 million deaths a year in the world and is a major contributor to cardiovascular and kidney diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease. Diseases linked to arterial hypertension are the leading cause of mortality in Europe, with an annual economic impact of about one billion euros. Although the greatest impact occurs in adulthood and advanced age, high blood pressure also occurs in young ages, a cardiovascular risk factor to which relatively little attention has been paid.

“It is the first initiative with these characteristics that exists internationally. We will address challenges of this existing problem in the child population that can be aggravated by the worldwide confinements caused by the COVID-19 pandemic”, highlighted Empar Lurbe, who is also the head of the Paediatrics service at the University General Hospital of Valencia.

The HyperChildNET network was born to establish a sustainable and multidisciplinary European network that can investigate the factors that affect high blood pressure in children and that can propose and implement corrective and preventive actions both globally and locally. The proposal coordinated by the University of Valencia involves research staff, doctors, specialists, managers, as well as patients, regulatory bodies, pharmaceutical and nutrition companies and manufacturers of medical devices.

During the 4 years of validity of the project, HyperChilNET will organise, through five working groups, conferences, seminars, training sessions and will be able to prepare reports, studies or informative material on child and youth high blood pressure.

HyperChildNET website: https://ir.uv.es/5DkyJ3S