What is White Coat Hypertension?
A.White coat hypertension is defined as a persistently high blood pressure (above 140/90) measured in the doctor’s office, together with a normal daytime ambulatory pressure (below 135/85). The reason for including persistently in the definition is that many people have high blood pressure when they are first seen by a doctor, but if repeat measurements are made on subsequent visits, lower pressures are often recorded as the patient gets more comfortable with the situation. However, there is a group of people whose office blood pressure stays high no matter how many times they are seen. There is no evidence that people who have it are generally any more anxious or neurotic than other people, except perhaps when seeing their doctor. At the very least, diagnosing white coat hypertension involves a series of office visits together with some measurements made outside the office.
