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 14% (about 1 in 7) of children and adolescents globally.Song P et al, Global prevalence of hypertension in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics 173:1154-1163, 2019
- The rate of hypertension in children and adolescents grew by 75% from 2000 to 2015.Song P et al, Global prevalence of hypertension in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics 173:1154-1163, 2019
- High blood pressure 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
- Screening for high blood pressure from childhood is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics,Flynn JT, et al. Clinical Practice Guideline for Screening and Management of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics 140:e20171904, 2017 European Society of Hypertension,Lurbe E, et al. 2016 European Society of Hypertension guidelines for the management of high blood pressure in children and adolescents. J Hypertens 34:1887-1920, 2016 and Hypertension CanadaRabi DM, et al. Hypertension Canada’s 2020 comprehensive guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis, risk assessment, and treatment of hypertension in adults and children. Can J Cardiol 36:596-624, 2020
Australian Paediatric Hypertension Guideline Initiative
BPOzKids, Hypertension Australia and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute have developed the first Australian 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 has adapted international guidelines, and formulated recommendations based on recent evidence and relevance to the Australian healthcare system. The initiative consists 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).
Consultation Phase
Update 15th May, 2025: The initial drafting process is complete and the consultation phase has begun! We invite clinicians, researchers, health organisations and members of the public to participate. If you would like to be involved in reviewing the guideline, please contact Jonathan Mynard.
The consultation deadline is 27th June 2025.
For more information about the guideline initiative, 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)
Paediatric Blood Pressure Monitoring Working Group
The purpose of this working group is to promote accurate, well-tolerated, well-implemented and well-utilized paediatric blood pressure monitoring. The group meets quarterly and is composed of clinicians and blood pressure researchers from around Australia. A key focus is identifying and overcoming practical barriers to blood pressure measurement in children and adolescents.
Primordial Prevention Working Group
'Primordial' prevention means preventing disease risk factors from forming or developing in the first place. This aim of this working group is to develop and present a strong, evidence-based rationale for taking action in Australia to address high blood pressure in children. The two key questions are:
1) Why should we do something (what does the science say and what are the gaps that need addressing in Australia)? and
2) Based on current evidence, what inteventions will have the most impact and be scalable?
Upcoming Events
Steering Committee
A/Prof Jonathan Mynard
BPOzKids Founder/Convenor
Heart Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
A/Prof Mynard is a NHMRC R.D. Wright Fellow and Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow, and holds honorary appointments with the Departments of Paediatrics and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Melbourne. He is a full-time academic researcher and is on the Executive of the High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia. His research program focused on childhood hypertension, arterial haemodynamics and cardiovascular disease.
A/Prof Cathy Quinlan
Paediatric Nephrology, Royal Children's Hospital
Kidney Regeneration, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
A/Prof Quinlan is a Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist at The Royal Children's Hospital and Honorary Research Fellow at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. Her research interests include inherited kidney disease, cardiovascular disease in kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome, cystic fibrosis, renal disease and peritoneal dialysis.
Prof Michael Cheung
Paediatric Cardiology, Royal Children's Hospital
Heart Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Prof Cheung is the Director of Paediatric Cardiology, Royal Children's Hospital, and Group Leader of Heart Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute. His research interests include functional outcomes in congenital heart disease, indices of ventricular function, central haemodynamics and cardiovascular imaging.
Prof Terry Dwyer
Heart Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Prof Dwyer is a non-communicable disease epidemiologist and the steering committee chair of the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohorts (i3C) Consortium. He leads the i3C Outcomes Study which is exploring associations of childhood risk factors with cardiovascular events and mortality in adulthood.
Dr Danielle Longmore
Endocrinology and Diabetes, Weight Management Service, Royal Children's Hospital
Inflammatory Origins, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Dr Longmore is a Paediatric Endocrinologist with a clinical and research interest in youth obesity, youth-onset type 2 diabetes, prevention of cardiometabolic disease, early life factors, psychological and socio-economic drivers, and First Nations Health. She works clinically as a Senior Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist at the Royal Children's Hospital and Western Health.
Jonathan Glenning
Student/ECR Co-lead
Heart Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Jonathan Glenning is a PhD candidate within Heart Research at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. His research aims to improve accuracy of blood pressure measurement and establish novel approaches for blood pressure screening in children and adolescents.
Dr Melanie Clarke
Student/ECR Co-lead
Heart Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Melanie Clarke is an exercise physiologist and early career researcher. She completed her PhD within Heart Research at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, with a project addressing the prevalence, significance and mechanisms underlying inter-arm blood pressure differences.