White coat hypertension is a phenomenon where the presence of a doctor causes a patient's blood pressure to rise. It can lead to an incorrect diagnosis of hypertension and may lead to unnecessary diagnostic studies and inappropriate medication use. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring should be used to overcome the white coat effect.
Ambulatory monitoring requires patients to wear a small non-invasive device.
The device automatically measures blood pressure every few minutes for 24 hours or longer. Blood pressure is measured while the patient is active or relaxed, asleep or awake. Nearly 50 million Americans have high blood pressure. Commonly referred to as the silent killer, untreated hypertension prematurely ages the body's arteries and can lead to strokes, heart attacks and kidney failure, often without warning. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring should be used in children suspected of having hypertension as part of the initial blood pressure assessment to avoid expensive and unnecessary tests.