Screening check
Should my child be screened for high blood pressure?
About 3% to 4% of US children and teens have high blood pressure. The US Preventive Services Task Force looked at whether children and teens not known to have it should be screened. Check what it says for your child.
About your child
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What you will see
What the USPSTF says about blood pressure screening for your child.
Educational only, not medical advice. This is not a blood pressure reading. Ask your child's clinician about their numbers.
Source
US Preventive Services Task Force, November 2020 recommendation on screening for high blood pressure in children and adolescents.
Validated in
Children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 not known to have high blood pressure.
Limits
It is not a blood pressure reading and cannot tell whether your child has high blood pressure. It does not cover children already diagnosed.
What the USPSTF recommends
| Who | Recommendation | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 not known to have high blood pressure | Evidence is insufficient to weigh the benefits and harms of screening for high blood pressure | I |
This is consistent with the USPSTF's 2013 statement. Clinicians should stay alert to signs and symptoms of high blood pressure and evaluate them as appropriate (USPSTF 2020). In current practice, blood pressure is usually measured at well-child or sports physicals, and several organizations recommend routine measurement at well-child visits starting at age 3, based on consensus (USPSTF 2020).
Why it matters
Studies followed children for 10 to 33 years and generally found that high blood pressure in childhood is linked to high blood pressure in adulthood (USPSTF 2020). Primary high blood pressure, with no known cause, occurs mostly in children older than 13 and is associated with higher body mass index and a family history. Younger children are more likely to have high blood pressure caused by another condition, most often kidney disease (USPSTF 2020).
Why the evidence falls short
No direct evidence shows whether screening children improves health outcomes, and there is limited evidence on the harms of screening and treatment (USPSTF 2020). Office readings can be falsely high and later return to normal, so frequent screening could lead to unneeded tests or treatment. In one study, two office readings correctly identified 81.6% of teens with high blood pressure and 70.3% of those without it, compared with 24-hour monitoring (USPSTF 2020).
Common questions
How is high blood pressure defined in children?
For children aged 1 to 13, it means readings at 3 different visits at or above the 95th percentile for age, height and sex, or above 130/80 mm Hg, whichever is lower. For teens 13 and older, adult thresholds apply: stage 1 is 130/80 to 139/89 mm Hg and stage 2 is above 140/90 mm Hg (USPSTF 2020).
How should it be measured?
Best practice is to listen with a stethoscope on the upper right arm, using a cuff of the right size, at 3 different visits (USPSTF 2020).
How is it treated?
Often with lifestyle changes, such as weight loss for children with overweight or obesity, more physical activity and the DASH diet. Medicine is generally used when lifestyle changes do not work or there is another underlying cause (USPSTF 2020).
Also see the adult high blood pressure screening check, the child cholesterol screening check and all screening tests by age.
Sources
- US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2020;324(18):1878-1883. www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/blood-pressure-in-children-and-adolescents-hypertension-screening
Written and maintained by the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team. We do not have a medical reviewer; every claim links to its primary source above. Last reviewed: 2026-10-30. Spotted an error? See About.