High blood pressure often undiagnosed in U.S. kids

High blood pressure among children and adolescents, a growing problem linked to increasing juvenile obesity, often goes undiagnosed in the United States, according to a study published on Tuesday.

This is dangerous, as high blood pressure can quietly damage the organs, especially the kidneys, the researchers reported in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, often signals another disease in children, like endocrine disorders, kidney or heart disease.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland examined more than 14,000 young people ages 3 to 18 and found 507 cases of hypertension.

376 cases, had not been diagnosed despite at least three previous medical checkups.

"If abnormal blood pressure is not identified by a patient's pediatric clinician, it may be years before the abnormal blood pressure is detected, leading to end-organ damage,"