Blood Pressure Medicine For Children: A Good Idea?
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Recently the FDA approved the blood pressure drug Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) for use in children and adolescents 6 to 16 years of age. Benicar was originally approved in 2002 for the treatment of high blood pressure in adults.
According to stats from MSN,
Some 3.6 million children in the United States have high blood pressure, a number that’s risen in tandem with children’s weight, the company said in a news release. Obese children are three times more likely to have hypertension than non-obese kids, the firm added.
Hypertension is a growing issue in children and adolescence that must not be overlooked, but is throwing medicine at the problem really the answer this early on in life?
I believe that hypertension medication should be left as a last resort to treat high blood pressure in adults, and even more so in children. Parents should put their children on a good diet and exercise regime and remedy the problem/break the bad eating and health habits before they develop into a unhealthy lifestyle.
Hypertension medicine this early on in life will only mask the true problem, and may lead to even worse health later on down the road.
The FDA approved the medicine safe for children and adolescents with respect to how the medicine functions, but will allowing children to use hypertension medication be safe and beneficial for them in the long run?
What do you think?
