Skip to main content

White Coat Syndrome

White Coat Syndrome

Some people find that their blood pressure is normal when measured at home, but rises slightly when they are seeing a doctor. This is known as the white coat syndrome. 





A healthy blood pressure reading is 120/80 mm Hg. However, white coat syndrome could make ones blood pressure higher than that. While some attribute the higher blood pressure reading to anxiety, one study found that people with white coat hypertension had a increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart failure. Another study found that death from heart disease was strongly attributed to white coat syndrome. 


Among patients with a measured high blood pressure in the doctor’s office, around 15-30 percent would be due to white coat syndrome. However, this does not mean that one should not take the high blood pressure reading seriously. Often times, it can be a sign of disease or illness. 


https://www.healthline.com/health/white-coat-syndrome#hypertension


https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/expert-answers/white-coat-hypertension/faq-20057792



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects one’s movements. Parkinson’s disease signs and symptoms are different for every individual and may go unnoticed in the early stage. Symptoms typically start on one side of the body and remain worse on that side even after the symptoms begin appearing in both sides of the body.  Generally, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include tremors, slowed movement, rigid muscles, impaired posture and balance, loss of automatic movements such as blinking or swinging of arms when walking, and speech and writing changes.  Parkinson’s disease occurs when neurons in an area of the brain that controls movement becomes impaired or dies. These neurons normally produce dopamine. As more neurons become impaired or die, the amount of dopamine produced in the body is reduced significantly, causing the movement problems associated with Parkinson’s disease.  People with Parkinson’s also lose the nerve endings that produc...

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when there is too little bone or when the body produces too little bone. The word is derived from the terms ‘osteo’ which means ‘bone’ and ‘porosis’ which means porous. Compared to normal bones, the spongy bone has more holes or pores, weakening the structural integrity of the skeleton. Bone cels called Osteoclasts, break down bone tissue and Osteoblasts build bone using minerals such as Calcium and Phosphate. Hormones such as oestrogen and testosterone help to keep the number and activity of Osteoblast high.  There are 2 types of osteoporosis. Primary Osteoporosis is due to old age when Osteoclasts remove more bone than Osteoblast make. This usually happens after the age of 30 when adults reach their ‘peak bone mass’. Secondary Osteoporosis affects both children and adults and mainly stem from cancer, hormonal imbalances or certain use of medications. In severe cases, bones may become too weak to support the rest of the human body and is ...

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a hearing condition often described as ringing in the ears. Tinnitus can also cause other types of noise in your ears such as: buzzing, roaring, clicking, hissing and humming.  The pitch heard from tinnitus can vary from a high squeal to a low roar, this can affect the patient’s ability to detect tinnitus from external sounds Tinnitus can develop gradually over time or occur suddenly. It is often associated with: age-related hearing loss, inner ear damage, earwax build-up and middle ear infection However, one in every three people with tinnitus doesn't have any obvious problem with their ears or hearing. Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tinnitus/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350162 http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-tinnitus-basics