Kyle Mutschler has suffered from high blood pressure, since he was 5 years old.
He can easily tell when something is wrong..
"I feel dizzy, headache."
The 14 year old has to watch every bite he eats.
His mother, Lynette Mutschler says they have to be careful with his sodium intake.
"We really try to keep his sodium intake at 1,200 milligrams or less, which is an incredibly difficult thing to do on a daily basis."
New research shows high blood pressure is landing more children in the hospital. The study finds hospitalizations nearly doubled for kids under 18 between 1997 and 2006. Children most at risk were more than 9 years old, boys and African-American
Doctors say high blood pressure can cause irreversible damage to the heart, kidneys and eyes. It can even set a child up for cardiovascular disease as an adults
Experts say the rise in childhood obesity may be behind the recent jump in hospital stays for high blood pressure.
Doctors still don't know what causes Kyle's high blood pressure. To stay on top of it, he takes 4 medications, gets plenty of exercise and uses new technology to monitor his pressure closely.
Kyle is able to maintain independence despite his illness.
He is able to take his own blood pressure with a special cuff and iPod app.
"I'm able to put it on by myself , plug into my iPod and through an app it will take my blood pressure, show me what it is and I can email it to my doctor and to my mom."
He's glad to be more independent and his mom has peace of mind knowing his pressure is in check.
He can easily tell when something is wrong..
"I feel dizzy, headache."
The 14 year old has to watch every bite he eats.
His mother, Lynette Mutschler says they have to be careful with his sodium intake.
"We really try to keep his sodium intake at 1,200 milligrams or less, which is an incredibly difficult thing to do on a daily basis."
New research shows high blood pressure is landing more children in the hospital. The study finds hospitalizations nearly doubled for kids under 18 between 1997 and 2006. Children most at risk were more than 9 years old, boys and African-American
Doctors say high blood pressure can cause irreversible damage to the heart, kidneys and eyes. It can even set a child up for cardiovascular disease as an adults
Experts say the rise in childhood obesity may be behind the recent jump in hospital stays for high blood pressure.
Doctors still don't know what causes Kyle's high blood pressure. To stay on top of it, he takes 4 medications, gets plenty of exercise and uses new technology to monitor his pressure closely.
Kyle is able to maintain independence despite his illness.
He is able to take his own blood pressure with a special cuff and iPod app.
"I'm able to put it on by myself , plug into my iPod and through an app it will take my blood pressure, show me what it is and I can email it to my doctor and to my mom."
He's glad to be more independent and his mom has peace of mind knowing his pressure is in check.
Comments
http://preventdisease.com/news/12/052912_Chilling-Statistics-What-Are-We-Doing-To-Ourselves-And-Our-Children.shtml
Mike D.
June 19, 2012 at 7:32 pm
