The adverse events associated with the antihypertensive agents were mostly minor and included headaches , dizziness and upper respiratory infections .
The most data are available for c and esartan , for which there is low- quality evidence of a modest lowering effect on blood pressure .
We did not find evidence of a consistent dose response relationship for escalating doses of angiotensin receptor blockers , calcium channel blockers or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors .
All agents appear safe , at least in the short term
BACKGROUND Hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke , coronary artery disease and kidney damage in adults .
There is a paucity of data on the long-term sequelae of persistent hypertension in children , but it is known that children with hypertension have evidence of end organ damage and are at risk of hypertension into adulthood .
The prevalence of hypertension in children is rising , most likely due to a concurrent rise in obesity rates .
In children with hypertension , non-pharmacological measures are often recommended as first-line therapy , but a significant proportion of children will eventually require pharmacological treatment to reduce blood pressure , especially those with evidence of end organ damage at presentation or during follow-up .
A systematic review of the effects of antihypertensive agents in children has not previously been conducted .
OBJECTIVES To determine the dose-related effects of different classes of antihypertensive medications , as monotherapy compared to placebo ; as combination therapy compared to placebo or a single medication ; or in comparisons of various doses within the same class , on systolic or diastolic blood pressure ( or both ) in children with hypertension .
A crossover comparison of extended release felodipine with prolonged action nifedipine in hypertension.
In a crossover design , control of blood pressure by extended release felodipine was compared with control by prolonged action nifedipine in 21 children with renal hypertension .  Compliance with once daily felodipine was higher than with nifedipine , at 95.6 ( SEM 2.7)% v 78.9 (6.0)% ( p = 0.02 ) . Mean diastolic blood pressure was lower during the day with felodipine than with nifedipine , at 77.6 ( 2.4 ) v 84.4 ( 2.8 ) mm Hg ( p = 0.05 ) . Similarly , blood pressure load ( the percentage of the day during which the child had blood pressure exceeding the upper limits of normal for age ) was lower for felodipine than for nifedipine : 43.5 (5.5)% v 61.3 (6.3)% . There was an opposite trend during the night , though this did not reach statistical significance . These data suggest that once a day felodipine is effective in children with hypertension . This may be because of improved compliance
The adverse events associated with the antihypertensive agents were mostly minor and included headaches , dizziness and upper respiratory infections .
The most data are available for c and esartan , for which there is low- quality evidence of a modest lowering effect on blood pressure .
We did not find evidence of a consistent dose response relationship for escalating doses of angiotensin receptor blockers , calcium channel blockers or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors .
All agents appear safe , at least in the short term
BACKGROUND Hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke , coronary artery disease and kidney damage in adults .
There is a paucity of data on the long-term sequelae of persistent hypertension in children , but it is known that children with hypertension have evidence of end organ damage and are at risk of hypertension into adulthood .
The prevalence of hypertension in children is rising , most likely due to a concurrent rise in obesity rates .
In children with hypertension , non-pharmacological measures are often recommended as first-line therapy , but a significant proportion of children will eventually require pharmacological treatment to reduce blood pressure , especially those with evidence of end organ damage at presentation or during follow-up .
A systematic review of the effects of antihypertensive agents in children has not previously been conducted .
OBJECTIVES To determine the dose-related effects of different classes of antihypertensive medications , as monotherapy compared to placebo ; as combination therapy compared to placebo or a single medication ; or in comparisons of various doses within the same class , on systolic or diastolic blood pressure ( or both ) in children with hypertension .