WHITE COAT HYPERTENSION

White coat hypertension, also known as white coat syndrome, is a phenomenon in which patients exhibit increased blood pressure in a clinical setting but not otherwise. It is postulated that this is due to the anxiety some people experience during a clinic visit.

As the notion of "normal" is subjective and changes from individual to individual a reference measurement was necessary. As night-time and self measured values are often not subject to daily stress and clinical values are subject to unusual anxiety, daytime ambulatory blood pressure is used as a reference as it takes into account daily stress but not in excess. Due to specificity involved in diagnosis of white coat hypertension, many problems have been incurred in its diagnosis and treatment.

The term "masked hypertension" can be used to describe the contrasting phenomenon, where blood pressure is elevated during daily living, but not in an office setting.

HYPERTENSION

Hypertension (HTN) or high blood pressure is a chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated.It is classified as either primary (essential) or secondary. About 90–95% of cases are termed "primary hypertension", which refers to high blood pressure for which no medical cause can be found. The remaining 5–10% of cases (Secondary hypertension) are caused by other conditions that affect the kidneys, arteries, heart, or endocrine system.

Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic kidney failure.Moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy. Dietary and lifestyle changes can improve blood pressure control and decrease the risk of associated health complications, although drug treatment may prove necessary in patients for whom lifestyle changes prove ineffective or insufficient.