BPOzKids - Blood Pressure in Australian Children Network

BPOzKids is a network of clinicians, researchers, industry representatives and community members who are working to address the problem of high blood pressure in Australian children and adolescents, supported by the Hypertension Australia and Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Did you know?

High blood pressure affects up to 12.5% (about 1 in 8) of children and adolescents globally.Defined as hypertension (>95th percentile) or prehypertension (>90th percentile), Zhou et al. Global prevalence of hypertension among children and adolescents aged 19 years or younger: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 10:11-21, 2026.
The rate of hypertension nearly doubled from 2000 to 2020 in boys and girls.Zhou et al. Global prevalence of hypertension among children and adolescents aged 19 years or younger: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 10:11-21, 2026.
High blood pressure (hypertension or prehypertension) has been reported in 28% of Aboriginal children and adolescents.Larkins N et al. Blood pressure among Australian Aboriginal children. J Hypertens 35:1801–1807, 2017
High blood pressure in childhood more than doubles the risk of heart attack and stroke in mid-adulthoodHaley et al. A Clinical Tool to Relate Youth Risk Factors to Adult Cardiovascular Events and Type 2 Diabetes: The i3C Consortium. J Pediatr. 2025;276:114277.

Australian Paediatric Hypertension Guideline

BPOzKids, Hypertension Australia, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, and collaborators from around Australia have developed the first national guidelines for the detection and management of high blood pressure in children and adolescents, with support from RACGP, RACP and the Heart Foundation. The national group adapted international guidelines and formulated recommendations based on recent evidence and relevance to the Australian healthcare system. The initiative consisted of a Guideline Steering Committee (chaired by A/Prof Cathy Quinlan), Clinical Advisory Panel (chaired by Dr Nicholas Larkins) and Project Team (led by A/Prof Jonathan Mynard).

Guideline Published (July 15, 2026)

The Australian Paediatric Hypertension Guideline has now been published in the Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health. The guideline and associated paediatric resources are available at www.hypertension.org.au/children.

For more information about the guideline, email contact@bpozkids.com

Guideline Steering Committee

A/Prof Catherine Quinlan (Guideline Steering Committee Chair, Department of Nephrology, Royal Children's Hospital)
Dr Nick Larkins (Clinical Advisory Panel Chair, Department of Nephrology, Perth Children's Hospital)
A/Prof Jonathan Mynard (Project Team Lead, Murdoch Children's Research Institute)
Ms Tanya Medley (Project Team Co-Lead, Murdoch Children's Research Institute)
Dr Swasti Chaturvedi (Department of Paediatrics, Royal Darwin Hospital)
Dr Malcolm Clarke (RACGP / Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne)
Dr Genevieve Gabb (Department of Medicine, Royal Adelaide Hospital)
Dr Christine Jeffries-Stokes (UWA Medical School, Rural Clinical School, Perth)
Dr Sarah McNab (Department of General Medicine, Royal Children's Hospital)
Dr Anastasia Mihailidou (Department of Cardiology and Kolling Institute, Royal North Shore Hospital)
Prof Markus Schlaich (Dobney Hypertension Centre, School of Medicine, Royal Perth Hospital Unit and RPH)
Amanda Black (Consumer Representative)
Manjuri Pathak (Consumer Representative)

Clinical Advisory Panel

Dr Nick Larkins (Perth Children's Hospital)
A/Prof Jonathan Mynard (Project Team Lead, Murdoch Children's Research Institute)
Ms Tanya Medley (Project Team Co-Lead, Murdoch Children's Research Institute)
Dr Siah Kim (The Children' Hospital at Westmead, Sydney School of Public Health)
Dr Sheena Kaul (Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne)
A/Prof Steven McTaggart (Children's Health Queensland)
Dr David Metz (Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne)
Dr Jennie Monin (General Paediatrics, Sydney Kids Clinic)
Prof Mark Nelson (Tasmanian School of Medicine, University of Tasmania)
Dr Rochelle Sleaby (General Practice Academic Post Registrar at University of Melbourne, MACH Track Fellow)
Dr Remi Kowalski (Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne)
Ms Lisa Kalman (National Heart Foundation of Australia)
A/Prof Rae-Chi Huang (Telethon Kids Institute)
Prof Derek Roebuck (Perth Children's Hospital)

Small child having blood pressure measured

Healthy Start for Young Hearts Alliance

'Primordial' prevention means preventing disease risk factors from forming or developing in the first place. The Healthy Start for Young Hearts Alliance brings together leading cardiovcascular disease experts, public health experts and clinicians to help address the rising burden of cardiovascular disease risk factors in Australian children. We are partnering with world-class platforms such as Generation Victoria (GenV) to create an evidence-based roadmap for cardiovascular disease prevention and risk factor management in childhood. For more information see the Healthy Start for Young Hearts Alliance page.