Preventive Cardiology Clinic - Children's Hospital Boston

300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 355-6000

Clinical Services (Preventive Cardiology Clinic):

Who We Help

Abnormal cholesterol and high blood pressure are well-recognized conditions that occur in adults. But many people are surprised to learn that these problems can emerge during childhood, laying the foundation for the development of heart disease in adulthood.

The good news is research shows that normalizing cholesterol values and reducing high blood pressure in children may help prevent or slow the growth of atherosclerosis, a hardening of arteries that often begins during the teenage years. Without intervention, atherosclerosis in childhood may lead to heart attack or stroke in young adulthood or early middle age.

If your child has any risk factors for atherosclerosis, or a secondary condition that leads to poor cholesterol or blood pressure problems, the Preventive Cardiology Clinic at Children's Hospital Boston can offer your child a targeted intervention program aimed at reversing these risk factors.

What causes cholesterol problems and high blood pressure in children?

Some children inherit unhealthy blood profiles, while others have a medical condition such as a liver or kidney disease, that causes these problems. In the United States, however, where fast-food diets and sedentary lifestyles are commonplace, the most prevalent causes for cholesterol and blood pressure problems in children are poor diet, obesity and inactivity.

Some 15 percent of all children and adolescents (aged 6 to 9) in the United States are overweight, almost double the rate of two decades ago, according to a 2004 report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One quarter of all Massachusetts high school students are overweight or at risk for being overweight.

As a result of growing obesity rates in children, Type 2 diabetes, a condition typically associated with older adults that can lead to heart disease, is also becoming more and more common in children.

What causes atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)?

Atherosclerosis is a process that can begin in childhood. It involves a build up of cholesterol in the arteries that carry blood and oxygen to parts of your body. Cholesterol accumulates inside the arteries and forms plaque-soft, mushy deposits that eventually make the artery stiff and narrow, and later leave the artery prone to forming clots that may block the flow of blood and lead to heart attack or stroke. Other conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, contribute to this process by affecting the function of arteries.



	The information on this website should not be taken as medical advice, which can only be given to you by your personal health care professional.

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