What Is White Coat Syndrome?

What is White Coat Syndrome?

White coat syndrome or white coat hypertension refers to the phenomenon in which individuals whose blood pressure measures normal at home experience high blood pressure readings in health care settings.

Symptoms

The main symptom of white coat syndrome is an individual experiencing high blood pressure or hypertension in a medical setting despite having blood pressure taken at readings at home that show a healthy reading of 120/80mm Hg. Of those experiencing hypertension in a health care setting, 15 to 30% may be experiencing white coat syndrome.

Causes

Two possible causes, alone or combined, may contribute to white coat syndrome: a stress response to a medical situation or an underlying health problem.

Blood pressure can be affected by the following factors:

• Time of Day
• Being rested
• Noise levels
• Emotional state
• Caffeine intake

Risk Factors

White coat syndrome is more likely to occur in

• Those who were assigned female at birth
• Aged 50 or older
• Non-smokers of tobacco
• Have a recently diagnosed with hypertension
• Are older than 50
• Are pregnant
• Are overweight

Additional Source Medical News Today