Are you one of those people who get nervous when the doctor takes your blood pressure? Your blood pressure may be high in the doctor's office and low at home. This response is called white coat hypertension and, in years past, it was attributed to nerves. No more.
According to Mayo Clinic physician Sheldon Sheps, MD, health professionals have a new view of white coat hypertension. "Doctors now think that white-coat hypertension might signal that you're at risk of developing high blood pressure as a long-term condition," he notes in a Mayo Clinic website article.
I never had white coat hypertension or high blood pressure. But after my husband's aorta dissected and surgeons installed a dacron descending aorta in his chest, just thinking about having my pressure taken would spike readings. My doctor had to take my pressure several times before the reading went down. Two weeks ago I was diagnosed with hypertension. Home monitoring was recommended and I have been keeping a pressure diary. The first reading, like that in the doctor's office, is always high, and then it goes down a bit.
Recently the American Heart Association issued a news release about a study published in its journal, "Hypertension." The release: "White-Coat, Masked Hypertension Raises Risk of Sustained High Blood Pressure." It cites a University of Milan, Italy study conducted during a 10-year span. Based on morning and evening readings, the study found "the risk of developing sustained hypertension was 2.51 times high in patients with white-coat hypertension."
Johns Hopkins discusses the response to blood pressure monitoring in a website article, "Should You Worry about White Coat Hypertension?" How do you know if you have it? According to Johns Hopkins, you may have it if your pressure goes down when a nurse takes readings. Home monitoring is another way to check. "An average ambulatory blood pressure reading below 130/80 mm Hg despite elevated office readings is termed white coat hypertension."
My doctor prescribed two medications to control hypertension and is working on adjusting the dosage. Right now my pressure is way too high. Frankly, I never thought I would be one of the millions of Americans who have high blood pressure and the experience has been confusing. As Johns Hopkins, the American Heart Association, and Mayo Clinic all explain, white coat hypertension could be a sign of high blood pressure.
Hypertension needs to be treated as early as possible. Like me, you may be asked to take home readings and record them in a diary. To make sure your monitor is working properly, bring it to the doctor's office. Your doctor can determine if the machine is giving accurate readings or not. Paying attention to white coat hypertension could literally save your life. I hope you will do it.
Copyright 2009 by Harriet Hodgson
