Blood pressure and heart rate in children with cystic fibrosis

Question

Hello
Can cystic fibrosis cause problems of blood pressure and / or elevated heart rate in CF adolescents (110 beats / min, he is 14 years old)? Are the two related? If so, would there be a link between cause and effect? Early infection or something else? Thank you very much in advance for your reply and thank you for all the time you spend for us. Yours.

Answer

Dear questioner,
CF itself is not accompanied by arterial hypertension. In contrast, in patients with cystic fibrosis and pancreatic insufficiency, diabetes is common; it may begin in adolescence and its frequency increases as the patient ages because its pancreas is more damaged. Cases of hypertension in patients with diabetes are possible but usually after several years of evolution of diabetes. This seems unlikely in adolescents.

The heart rate is often increased in patients with CF due to respiratory insufficiency, while the heart remains normal. During an infection, if the respiratory status is worse with a drop in blood oxygen saturation, heart rate increases. Similarly, fever is accompanied by an increase in heart rate. The increase of heart rate above baseline can be a small warning sign.
Sincerely.
Dr Dominique Hubert

23.12.2013