high blood pressure in young adults

[aseela]

My son is 19 years 6 months. He had corrective surgery for ASD when he was 7 years old.
He had a routine health check up yesterday and found that his blood pressure is 144 / 70.
He is a fit young man who runs 5 km daily, follows a healthy lifestyle, does not smoke.
I am concerned about the possible co relation between his having had an ASD and the blood pressure reading which the nurse says is borderline.
Could you please let me know if these readings are normal for his age?

Thanks,
Aseela

[Cleveland Clinic]

No they are not normal in either patients with or without repaired ASDs. I would suggest a workup for secondary causes of hypertension such as tumors or coarction of the aorta. I would recommend that you see his cardiologist for workup of these rare syndromes, which may require laboratory workup, and some imaging which may include an MRI or CT scan of the aorta.

[Sam8383]

Hi,

I'm 26 y.o. male, fit and in good shape. But a few months ago got a surprise at the doctor's with high BP readings.

I had a sonogram, and it turns out I have a kidney issue called UPJ stricture, caused by a vein pressing on the ureter. Another surprise. The doctor said it's best to just monitor it every year to make sure it doesn't get worse.

Anyway, I changed my diet, cut out salty foods, alcohol, exercised more, and got my bp to between 130 - 140 systolic. (I bought a BP monitor to home test).

Through reading online just found out about "Pulse Pressure" - the difference between systolic and diastolic numbers.

My systolic readings are between 130 - 140, but diastolic readings consistently around 70, which give me a "pulse pressure" of around 60 - 70.

I've read around 40 is a normal pulse pressure. What should I do? Is there a way to reduce my systolic bp, while keeping my diastolic bp at this level? Do I need medication like ACE inhibitors or something to properly reduce my systolic bp?

Thanks :)