Children with high blood pressure at age seven may be at increased risk of dying of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by their mid-50s.

These are the results of the preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association (AHA)’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2025, held in Baltimore, September 4–7. The study was simultaneously published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA).

“We were surprised to find that high blood pressure in childhood was linked to serious health conditions many years later.

“Specifically, having hypertension or elevated blood pressure as a child may increase the risk of death by 40 per cent to 50 per cent CVD over the next five decades of an individual’s life,” said Alexa Freedman, Ph.D., lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the department of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

“Our results highlight the importance of screening for blood pressure during childhood and focusing on strategies to promote optimal cardiovascular health beginning in childhood.”