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Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Disease in Children

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Abstract

Atherosclerosis, the major cause of acquired cardiovascular disease, has its origins in childhood. The development of early atherosclerosis is directly related to the major cardiovascular risk factors: hypertension, dyslipidemia, tobacco use, diabetes, obesity, and physical inactivity. The presence of risk factors in childhood is associated with measures of subclinical atherosclerosis later in life, and risk factors assessed in children are highly likely to persist into adulthood. Thresholds for optimal levels of cardiovascular risk factors in childhood have been developed, and evidence-based strategies for the management of cardiovascular risk in childhood have been published.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nemours Cardiac Center, A. I. duPont Hospital for Children, 1600 Rockland Road, Wilmington, DE, 19803, USA

    Samuel S. Gidding

  2. Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Samuel S. Gidding

Authors
  1. Samuel S. Gidding
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Correspondence to Samuel S. Gidding .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Seattle Children’s Hospital Division of Nephrology, Seattle, WA, USA

    Joseph T. Flynn

  2. Division of Nephrology MassGeneral for Children at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School Department of Pediatrics, Boston, MA, USA

    Julie R. Ingelfinger

  3. St. Luke’s Health System, Children’s Nephrology and Hypertension, Boise, ID, USA

    Karen M. Redwine

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Arkansas Children's Hospital, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 1 Children's Way, 72202, Little Rock, AR, USA

    Karen M. Redwine MD

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Gidding, S.S. (2018). Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Disease in Children. In: Flynn, J., Ingelfinger, J., Redwine, K. (eds) Pediatric Hypertension. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31107-4_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31107-4_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31106-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31107-4

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