White Coat Hypertension

 

Dogs and Pets help to reduce blood pressure

 

For a long time I have noticed that when I check my blood pressure at home it is fine, but whenever I go to the doctor's office it reads high. I always suspected it was the result of White Coat Hypertension.

 

What is White Coat Hypertension?

According to Wikepedia, "White coat hypertension is a phenomenon in which patients exhibit elevated blood pressure in a clinical setting but not in other settings. It is believed that this is due to the anxiety some people experience during a clinic visit."

Last year my White Coat Hypertension became a problem for me. Not a physical one but rather a bureaucratic one. I needed new health insurance because my rates were going through the roof. I applied for new health insurance and was turned down because of "high blood pressure". They got their diagnosis of high blood pressure from one reading in the doctor's office (which is not what a diagnosis is suppose to be based on). I could appeal the rejection notice, but it was a difficult and lengthy process. I decided to shop elsewhere for insurance.

I figured that if I applied with health insurance with a different company the results might be the same because that one last reading in my medical records was high so I decided to do something about it.

I went back to my family doctor and explained my situation and asked if they could monitor my blood pressure over a period of time (every 10 minutes for an hour) thinking that my White Coat Anxiety would go down and subsequently my blood pressure. Well it worked. After about one half hour my blood pressure readings fell to within the normal range and I was told that "I did not have hypertension". They said they would update my medical records accordingly.

After that I had no problem getting new health insurance.

 

Blood Pressure Monitor	Monitoring Blood Pressure

 

 

 

 

White Coat Hypertension 

1. What is White Coat Hypertension?

2. How do I know if I have White Coat Hypertension?

3. What can I do about White Coat Hypertension?

4. How serious is White Coat Hypertension?

5. Is White Coat Hypertension important?

6. Is White Coat Hypertension harmless?

7. How common is White Coat Hypertension?

8. How is White Coat Hypertension diagnosed? 

 

 

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Tags: White Coat Hypertension, High Blood Pressure