Fear and anxiety can cause a brief increase in blood pressure (“white coat syndrome”). Symptoms of high blood pressure include no visible symptoms at all, changes in eyesight, or sudden blindness, racing heart, coughing, or weakness, seizures, head tilt, circling, lethargy, or restlessness.
Healthcare providers usually treat white coat syndrome only if you have other cardiovascular risks. Making lifestyle changes like losing a few pounds or eating less salt may be your treatment. People who are at a high risk for heart issues may need to take blood pressure medicine (antihypertensives).
The white-coat effect
Compared with people whose blood pressure was normal both at the doctor's office and at home, people with untreated white-coat hypertension had a 36% higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and other heart-related events. They were also twice as likely to die from heart disease.
PHILADELPHIA – White coat hypertension, a condition in which a patient's blood pressure readings are higher when taken at the doctor's office compared to other settings, was originally attributed to the anxiety patients might experience during medical appointments.
In fact, that sudden rise in blood pressure you experience when you go to the doctor is so common, it actually has a name: White Coat Hypertension or White Coat Syndrome. It's an anxiety-induced blood pressure spike while in a medical environment when high blood pressure is not otherwise an issue for the patient.
Similarly, patients with a condition called “masked hypertension” that is the reverse of white coat hypertension – normal blood pressure in their physician's office but high readings at home – have more cardiovascular events than patients with consistently normal blood pressures.
If you feel nervous or very anxious around healthcare professionals, the term “white coat syndrome” might apply to you. While not an official diagnosis, it's a term often used to describe the rise in blood pressure that some people get in uncomfortable settings, like at a doctor's office.
Studies show that nearly 1 in 5 people experience white-coat syndrome. While it usually isn't a cause for concern or treatment, it can be confused with actual, chronic hypertension (or high blood pressure), if not careful.
Still, you can make lifestyle changes to bring your blood pressure down. Something as simple as keeping yourself hydrated by drinking six to eight glasses of water every day improves blood pressure. Water makes up 73% of the human heart,¹ so no other liquid is better at controlling blood pressure.
Usually, blood pressure starts to rise a few hours before a person wakes up. It continues to rise during the day, peaking in midday. Blood pressure typically drops in the late afternoon and evening. Blood pressure is usually lower at night while sleeping.
Four in 10 Finns have genes that cause "white coat syndrome", research finds. A graduate researcher found that high blood pressure readings at doctors' offices had genetic roots and weren't all in patients' heads.
Beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, and avocado are other potassium-rich foods that may help lower blood pressure naturally. Kiwifruit: According to one study, eating three kiwifruit daily can help dramatically lower blood pressure. Kiwi is delicious chopped up in fruit salad or sprinkled on top of plain yogurt.
Bananas. These are rich in potassium, a nutrient shown to help lower blood pressure, says Laffin. One medium banana provides about 375 milligrams of potassium, about 11 percent of the recommended daily intake for a man, and 16 percent for a woman.
It might mean a risk of developing high blood pressure as a long-term condition. People with white coat hypertension might also have a higher risk of developing certain cardiovascular problems and damage to some organs, compared with people who have steady, optimal blood pressure.
The top drinks for lowering blood pressure include water, fruit juices (pomegranate, prune, cranberry, cherry), vegetable juice (tomato, raw beet), tea (black, green), and skim milk.
It refers to the circumstances where a persons blood pressure readings are high when taken in a medical setting, but their blood pressure is standard in most other settings (such as when they take the readings at home).
White coat hypertension was defined by an average daytime ambulatory BP < 131/86 mm Hg in women and < 136/87 mm Hg in men and its prevalence was 18.9% (n = 252). The white coat effect was calculated for systolic and diastolic BP as the difference between clinic BP and average daytime ambulatory BP.
Exercise can help you manage blood pressure and more.
Physical activity not only helps control high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, it also helps you manage your weight, strengthen your heart and lower your stress level.
Discrepancies between office-based and out-of-office blood pressure readings may reveal "white coat" hypertension (if office-based pressures are elevated and out-of-office pressures are normal) or "masked" hypertension (if office-based pressure are normal and out-of-office pressures are elevated).
Propranolol belongs to a group of medicines called beta blockers. It's used to treat heart problems, help with anxiety and prevent migraines. If you have a heart problem, you can take propranolol to: treat high blood pressure.
Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) is the most frequent mechanism used in measuring the presence of the white coat effect. The standard definition of white coat hypertension is an elevation of clinic pressure with a normal daytime ambulatory profile.
The most commonly used medications are Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs) and calcium channel blockers. Diuretics and adrenergic blockers can also be helpful in controlling blood pressure.
White coat hypertension (WHT), more commonly known as white coat syndrome, is a form of labile hypertension in which people exhibit a blood pressure level above the normal range in a clinical setting, although they do not exhibit it in other settings.