Patterns of blood flow may predict high blood pressure in later life.

Many Africans in South Africa have high blood pressure. Knowing that how the heart and blood vessels respond to activity can be linked to high blood pressure in later life, we studied the heart and blood vessels of Black South African children. Our results showed that some of the children, when active, had a higher rate of blood flow through their blood vessels compared to others in their group. In young people this higher volume of blood pumped by the heart may predict the development of early high blood pressure and probable diseases of the heart and blood vessels in later life. If the at-risk children could be identified early, the development of heart and blood vessel disease in later life could be prevented. Source: The Influence of Cardiac and Vascular Responses on Baseline Cardiovascular Parameters in Black African Children Carla M.T. Fourie, MSc; Johannes M. van Rooyen, DSc; Hugo W. Huisman, PhD; Nicolaas T. Malan, DSc; Rudolph Schutte, PhD; Leoné Malan, PhD; Aletta E. Schutte, PhD